Join us for a webinar panel discussing the current administration’s mass deportation campaign which led to a surge in the number of people being held in ICE detention centers. The administration revived the practice of detaining families, and there are now hundreds of children in these centers-who are usually, but not always, held with a parent. Last year, 32 people died in ICE custody, the agency’s deadliest year in over two decades. Detainees have described ICE detention centers as filthy, with overcrowded sleeping quarters and inhumane living conditions, including a lack of food and clean drinking water and inadequate medical care. There have been outbreaks of measles and COVID. This multidisciplinary panel of scholars will shine a light on the public policy crisis of ICE detention centers, bringing historical, human rights, public health, and psychological perspectives to a much-needed conversation and mapping out a path forward.
Panelist Bios:
Chris Beyrer is the Gary Hock Distinguished Professor of Global Infectious Diseases at Duke University, Director of the Duke Global Health Institute, and Associate Director for Global HIV at the Duke Center for AIDS Research. He was previously the Desmond M. Tutu Professor at Johns Hopkins University and Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine from 1997-2022. He is listed among the world’s most cited scientists and has led collaborative research on HIV epidemiology, prevention and treatment in Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia for over 30 years. His recent HIV research has been with key populations including sexual and gender minorities, people who inject drugs, sex workers, and prisoners and detainees. He is past president of the International AIDS Society and currently serves as an advisor to PEPFAR, the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, The Fogarty International Center of the NIH, the WHO, and Physicians for Human Rights.
Lauren Brinkley‑Rubinstein is a Professor of Population Health Sciences and core faculty in the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University. She is a national expert on how the criminal legal system affects individuals, families, and communities. In 2020, she co‑founded the COVID Prison Project, a national effort tracking COVID testing, cases, and deaths in U.S. prison systems. Building on that work, she launched the Third City Project, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation–funded initiative aggregating publicly available health and policy data from carceral systems. She also leads multiple NIH and foundation‑funded studies focused on substance use, HIV prevention, and mortality. In 2019, she co‑edited a special issue of AJPH on mass incarceration and health. She has been recognized by the National Academy of Medicine and received the 2025 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
Andrea Pitzer is a journalist and author of three books, including One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, which was named a best history book of 2017 by Smithsonian Magazine. She has published peer-reviewed work, but the bulk of her writing has been for journalistic outlets, such as The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, Scientific American, New York magazine, and Outside, among other publications. Andrea’s reporting has taken her to four continents and on multiple expeditions to the Arctic. She also has a weekly newsletter, “Degenerate Art,” and a podcast, “Next Comes What,” both of which focus on the current political crisis in the United States, particularly matters involving detention camps.
Dr. Rosalind Rogers is an international psychologist specializing in global mental health and trauma services. She provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed technical assistance and training to organizations serving refugees and migrants. Dr. Rogers teaches counseling courses at George Mason University and doctoral courses in international psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in private practice. As a clinical behavioral health subject matter expert with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, she delivered national training and technical assistance, authored articles on refugee mental health, and developed psychoeducational curricula for newcomers and providers. She also led the development and management of mental health and psychosocial support programs for Afghan evacuees at military bases under Operation Allies Welcome and for unaccompanied Afghan minors in federal care. Dr. Rogers has contributed to published research with the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress and has presented widely, including on SiriusXM’s Doctor Radio.
Moderator:
Gavin Yamey is the Hymowitz Family Professor of Global Health in the Duke Global Health Institute and a Professor of Public Policy in the Sanford School of Public Policy. He is on the core faculty of the Margolis Institute of Health Policy and affiliate faculty of Duke Science and Society. He directs the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health, an innovative policy lab that addresses major strategic questions in global health, with a focus on maternal and child health, universal health coverage, and public goods for health. He has been an External Advisor to the World Health Organization and chairs the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health financing committee. Dr. Yamey has published extensively on global health, neglected diseases, and health disparities, is a frequent commentator on National Public Radio, and is a columnist for TIME magazine. He has written widely for popular media, including the Washington Post and USA Today.