Until late last year, when an immigrant died in a U.S. detention center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement would release a detailed three-page report on the circumstances. As the number of detainee deaths swelled, those reports have been cut to four-paragraph summaries.
Agency policy had been that ICE notified the public and Congress within two days of a detainee’s death, and then within 90 days all reports about in-custody deaths were posted on ICE's website.
The information typically included detailed timelines, with timestamps of medical observations, regular medications, emergency medications administered and the times and causes of death.
But starting in mid-December, that changed. When a report is released now, it generally includes a brief synopsis of the circumstances that led up to the death.
The Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump has promised to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible, and holding facilities are increasingly overcrowded, hot and plagued by illness. ICE accounts of the conditions in detention facilities often differ dramatically from those of migrants held inside.
DHS did not address the changes directly, but it said in a statement that the death rates were a very small percentage of the overall detained population.
“All detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens," it said.
This week, ICE reported the 16th immigrant detainee death this year. Last year, it announced 33 deaths, the most in more than two decades. In 2024, there were 11.
Though the number of people in ICE detention has dropped by 11% since February and ICE arrests are down by 21%, more than 60,000 people remain in custody — nearly double the number before Trump returned to office.
The agency has come under scrutiny from Democrats in Congress over the number of deaths. Much of the focus has been directed at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, which detains more immigrants than any other facility. A detainee died there in January, and ICE said it appeared to be an attempted suicide, but the local coroner later declared it a homicide.
At least four of the deaths, at detention centers in Georgia, El Paso, Houston and Philadelphia, occurred more than 90 days ago. ICE has not posted the final death reports on its website. ICE said one person died from heart problems and another from drug issues. But when two deaths were announced in January, the causes of death were listed as “under investigation.” No final conclusions have been released.
One was Victor Manuel Diaz, 36-year-old man from Nicaragua with no criminal background who died from a presumed suicide, ICE said, though no official determination has been reported.
Diaz was arrested in Minneapolis on Jan. 6 as Homeland Security surged immigration officers to the city in a chaotic operation that left two Americans dead. Homeland Security officials backed off their deployment tactics after criticism arose over the deaths of the Americans, who were shot by immigration officers.
Diaz was transferred from Minnesota to Camp East Montana in El Paso and was awaiting deportation when he died eight days later.
The other, Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, 34, a Mexican national, was arrested for driving with an expired license and was found in early January hanging by his neck at a facility in Georgia, seven days after he was arrested.
The official cause of death was listed as “under investigation,” and the agency has not posted any additional information.
The ICE website that posts investigations has not been updated since mid-February, according to the archived versions of it. DHS said Wednesday that the posting delays were a result of the ongoing shutdown of the department as Congress continues to fight over funding it.
"Under these conditions, certain administrative and public-facing updates are not fully operational. In a shutdown driven by Democrats’ failure to fund the government, non-essential reporting functions can be slowed even as ICE continues its core mission," DHS said in a statement.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
