Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced June 4 that it will cease investigating or reporting deaths of individuals recently released from its detention centers, a move that critics say undermines accountability.
The Department of Homeland Security called the policy update “common sense,” asserting that while ICE “remains committed to transparency regarding detainee deaths,” it is “not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody.”
However, the decision raises serious concerns about ICE’s treatment of detainees. The agency routinely releases people far from their homes without resources, as seen in the case of Jesus Ramirez Ramos. Detained in Salina, Kansas, he was transferred to a Michigan facility, held for nine months, then released with dirty clothes and a lost phone. Activists had to step in to prevent him from being stranded.
Such transfers are increasingly common. Under President Trump’s second term, the number of detainees moved five or more times has more than tripled, according to The Marshall Project. The American Friends Service Committee reports that ICE’s online locator tool often fails to show detainee locations, leaving families in the dark.
Injuries in custody also raise alarms. In January, during Operation Metro Surge, ICE agents dropped Alberto Castañeda at a Minnesota hospital with fractured skull and facial bones, claiming he ran into a wall. Forensic pathologist Lindsey C. Thomas, with over 30 years of experience, called that explanation implausible, noting “skull fractures on both the right and left sides of their head and from front to back” could not result from such a collision. Castañeda was released two weeks later, suffering permanent memory loss and with no family in the state.
Detainees also report medical neglect and poor nutrition. At a Colorado ICE facility, one detainee described meals as “small scoops of beans and corn, a few pieces of lettuce, half a slice of bread and ‘a baby’s spoon-sized serving of something unidentifiable without color.’” In May, Elder Guerra slipped and fell at New Jersey’s Delaney Hall facility, operated by private prison company Geo Group. Fellow detainees said guards delayed calling an ambulance despite Guerra having a seizure. His relative reported worsening condition and hearing loss. The facility has faced repeated allegations of neglect, spoiled food, and denial of medical care and hygiene products.
These issues culminate in dangerous releases. In February, Customs and Border Protection officers abandoned Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind refugee who didn’t speak English, alone on a cold night in New York state. He died days later; a medical examiner ruled it a homicide from “complications of a perforated ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration.” Similarly, the March death of Haitian asylum seeker Daphy Michel in Pittsburgh was ruled a homicide. The medical examiner noted she had “untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier,” was given an ankle monitor, and was dropped at a bus stop 40 miles away, where she died of hypothermia. A Pennsylvania examiner ruled her death a homicide after ICE release.
The policy being rescinded was enacted by the Biden administration in 2021 to hold ICE accountable for releasing severely ill detainees, precisely to address cases like Alam’s and Michel’s.
ICE’s track record of abuse is well-documented. A 2022 survey of 85 clinicians found that all 1,300 patients treated had adverse health conditions from detention, including vaccine-preventable diseases, denied medication, and worsened chronic conditions. A 2024 report on preventable deaths concluded that 95 percent of deaths reported by ICE between 2017 and 2021 could have been prevented with adequate care.
As critics demand oversight amid a $70B ICE funding bill lacking accountability measures, Homeland Security must be held responsible. Policies requiring ICE to report deaths, including post-release, are essential for transparency and accountability.
