LOUISIANA – The Marshall Project reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increasingly placed detainees in solitary confinement under the Trump administration, prompting experts and advocates to warn that the practice is inflicting severe psychological harm on thousands of immigrants.
According to the Marshall Project, one of those affected is Faviola Salinas Zaraté, a mother of three from Mexico who “still has nightmares about the Louisiana detention center where she said she was locked in a windowless isolation cell with a broken toilet for almost two months” at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile.
Salinas told the outlet that the cell’s broken toilet forced her to urinate on the floor, guards often refused her blankets, and she was left to sleep on bare metal after they confiscated the mattress she tore open for warmth.
She said, “It was unbearable,” and she “felt anxious, helpless” as she “saw others being let out, and [she] was the only one left behind.”
The Marshall Project reported that Salinas was detained in February 2025, just three months after she gave birth, while suffering from postpartum depression. Her condition worsened after being transferred between detention centers, and “staff told her she was placed in solitary confinement for her own safety and to prevent her from harming other detainees.”
The outlet stated that she didn’t receive mental health treatment and was not told in Spanish why she was being isolated. “I cried a lot, and sometimes from the depression, I urinated in my clothes,” Salinas said. “I don’t know why they didn’t give me the care I needed.” She spoke to the Marshall Project from her home in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she now lives.
Her condition deteriorated while in solitary as she began hallucinating and speaking to another detainee through a wall, according to the report. After six weeks, she was hospitalized for psychiatric care before being returned to the general population.
Ultimately, she accepted deportation to Mexico after being emotionally and physically drained, forcing her to leave her three children behind in the U.S. “I lost a lot of time with my children, and I’m still losing time, because now I’m here,” she said. “No human being deserves that.”
The Marshall Project reported that government data show solitary confinement in ICE detention centers has increased by 41% in less than a year under the Trump administration.
Overall detention has also increased by 56% during that period, sparking concern among human rights advocates. UC Berkeley public policy professor Caitlin Patler told the Marshall Project, “Solitary confinement is perhaps the most punitive practice that exists in carceral settings, and it’s being used in immigration detention in very similar ways.”
Psychologists told the outlet that isolation can cause hallucinations, confusion, cognitive decline, and suicidal thoughts—especially among trauma survivors. The United Nations has stated that prolonged solitary confinement (15 days or longer) constitutes a form of torture.
ICE told the Marshall Project that it does not use solitary confinement as punishment or retaliation and only isolates detainees when medically necessary or for safety reasons. However, several detainees interviewed by the outlet claimed to have been placed in solitary for protesting, arguing, or refusing medical procedures.
The Marshall Project noted that the Trump administration has cut oversight mechanisms and slashed resources within detention centers. “What’s really scary right now is there’s no third-party witnesses to what’s happening inside,” said Amanda Diaz, organizing director of Freedom for Immigrants.
Earlier this year, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff released an investigation into the treatment of pregnant women and children in ICE custody. The Marshall Project stated he found that some individuals who reported abuse were placed in solitary confinement. Lawmakers have since reintroduced a bill to end solitary confinement across all federal facilities.
The outlet reported that the Department of Homeland Security issued a new policy requiring ICE to outline when and why detainees may be placed in isolation, with specific protections for pregnant women and individuals with serious mental illness. ICE officers must also explain the situation “in a language or manner they can understand.”
The policy expands reporting requirements, mandating that every instance of isolation be recorded regardless of duration.
The Marshall Project concluded that the increase in solitary confinement under the Trump administration, coupled with reduced oversight and rising detention numbers, has exposed thousands of immigrants to profound psychological harm. The outlet emphasized the need for stronger federal regulation and recognition of the serious consequences of isolation.
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