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In recent weeks, ACLU attorneys and advocates have managed to free over 30 people from immigrant detention – facilities that public health experts say are a "tinderbox" for infection. Mario Rodas, Sr. is one of them. This is his story.

Rodas was in immigration detention when he first heard about the COVID-19 crisis. He'd been picked up by ICE during a traffic stop in early March while he was driving to the grocery store with his wife, a legal permanent resident with whom he has three U.S citizen children.

Hear firsthand how living in ICE detention during the pandemic can be a death sentence.

"I was scared for my health," Rodas told me. "I was worried because I have diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. It was stressful, you know?" The more he heard about the virus and how dangerous it is for people with medical conditions like his, the more scared the 59-year-old became. Just days later, word spread through the prison – a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19.

"Just do whatever you can to stay alive and hopeful," his son told him over the phone. "We are doing everything we can to get you out of there."

Then, in late March, Rodas was released after the ACLU filed suit to free him. "I was so happy, I couldn't believe it," said Rodas' son. Now, Rodas is quarantining in a room in the house until 14 days have passed since his release.

We've filed 15 suits across the country so far arguing that people like Mario Rodas, Sr., who have medical conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19, shouldn't remain in immigrant detention.

The release of Rodas and others is a start, but it's nowhere near enough. By keeping people detained in facilities where social distancing is impossible, access to sanitation is poor, and rapid spread is all but inevitable, ICE is endangering all of us. One attorney who represents asylum seekers in California told us that her client was forced to clean his cell with body wash, and others are in dorms with dozens of people.

This is cruel for people in detention, but also dangerous for everyone in the country. COVID-19 outbreaks inside these facilities will strain our health systems and create new vectors for community transmission.

We all deserve safety during a public health crisis. Read more about Mario's story, the state of ICE detention facilities, and why we're fighting to release more people in immigrant detention.

Thanks for your support,

Ashoka Mukpo
ACLU Staff Reporter