COVID-19 is ravaging jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers due to overcrowded, unsanitary conditions and a lack of adequate healthcare.

The top five clusters of the virus across the U.S. are all in prisons and jails, and cases keep rising. From May to June, the number of infected incarcerated people DOUBLED to around 70,000 known cases, and COVID-related deaths have skyrocketed by 73%. These are definitely undercounts, as many correctional facilities have refused to test even symptomatic people.

Now, Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Barbara Lee have introduced the Dismantle Mass Incarceration for Public Health Act, which would condition federal funding on whether states release eligible incarcerated people, including those who are:

• Awaiting trial and have not been convicted of a crime (likely just can’t afford bail)
• In ICE detention
• Pregnant or primary caregivers
• Terminally ill, medically vulnerable to COVID-19 (including ages 55+), or have a disability
• Nearing the end of their sentences
• Serving misdemeanor sentences or possession/sale of a controlled substance
• Incarcerated due to technical violation of parole/probation or a bench warrant for arrest (often due to a missed court appearance)
• Status offenders (young people charged with an offense that would not be a crime if committed by an adult)

The pandemic should not be a death sentence for incarcerated people. Add your name today to become a grassroots co-signer of the Dismantle Mass Incarceration for Public Health Act to save lives by releasing people immediately for up to a year after the pandemic ends.

Throughout the prison industrial complex, alcohol-based hand sanitizer is banned, social distancing is impossible, and people can’t even access basic hygienic supplies like soap. About 40% of the millions of incarcerated people in the U.S. suffer from a chronic health condition, and nearly 275,000 are aged 50 or older. Especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, people in confinement are now unnecessarily caged for even longer due to pandemic-related delayed trials and hearings.

The Dismantle Mass Incarceration for Public Health Act is just the start of a goal to end mass incarceration, a growing crisis in the U.S. that disproportionately targets and terrorizes Black and brown communities. Systemic racism and disinvestment have also led to a health crisis outside prison walls, where Black and brown people are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. The time for national action is now. Become a grassroots co-signer today!