The number of deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody has increased significantly in recent years, with ten people dying so far this fiscal year. This is more than twice as many as last year and three times as many as the year before. The number of deaths in the first eight months of the current fiscal year exceeds the total for all 12 months of five of the six preceding years. The only year with a higher death toll was 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic, when 21 people died in ICE custody. ICE maintains that it takes the safety of individuals in its custody seriously and provides comprehensive medical care to detainees.
Two recent deaths in ICE custody highlight the ongoing issue. A 39-year-old Guatemalan migrant, Hugo Boror Urla, died in a Michigan hospital after being detained by ICE for about a month. Cambric Dennis, a 44-year-old man from Liberia, died in ICE custody in Georgia. These deaths are among six that have occurred in ICE custody since January. The average daily population in ICE facilities has been steadily increasing, with the average for this year at 37,835 compared to 28,289 in fiscal year 2023.
Immigration advocates have raised concerns about human rights violations in privately run ICE detention centers and have called for increased accountability and transparency following the recent deaths. They are advocating for the release of detainees with health issues and potential sponsors in the country while their immigration cases are ongoing. Some advocates are calling for certain detention centers with a history of human rights violations to be shut down. Azadeh Shahshahani from Project South described the recent number of deaths as “appalling” and criticized the lack of action from the Biden administration on privatized detention of migrants.
ICE maintains that the use of private detention contractors is essential for the national detention system and enables the agency to carry out its mission. The agency depends on the availability of detention space to remove individuals to their home countries or hold those who pose a public safety threat. Immigrant rights advocates have been calling on the federal government to cut ties with troubled detention centers in light of the recent deaths. Recently, a candlelight vigil was held outside ICE’s New Orleans field office to commemorate a man who died in Louisiana in February and to remember others who have died in ICE custody. Ousmane Ba, a 33-year-old man from Senegal, died after being hospitalized for nearly a month at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield.
