By Lily Rusk
WASHINGTON, DC – Since Jan. 1, 2017, at least 68 individuals have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), not accounting for those released shortly before their deaths, a tactic that skews official numbers and evades accountability, according to a recent report.
The comprehensive report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and American Oversight examines the deaths of 52 individuals in ICE custody from January 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2021.
According to the report, this analysis is based on more than 14,500 pages of documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, public records, and civil litigation. The report includes ICE’s investigatory reports and interviews with the families of the deceased.
According to the report, ICE’s current methods for investigating deaths in custody investigations often include the destruction of evidence, failure to interview key witnesses, and omitting crucial facts.
“ICE’s oversight process has failed to result in meaningful consequences for detention facilities, including those whose conditions have caused the greatest number of deaths,” the report charges.
In two instances, ICE released key eyewitnesses before investigators could interview them, including during visits related to the deaths of Ben Owen and Efrain de la Rosa, the report writes.
In another instance, detention facilities destroyed video evidence pertinent to the deaths of Roxsana Hernandez and Gourgen Mirimanian.
Medical experts cited in the report concluded 49 of the 52 deaths examined were preventable or possibly preventable with appropriate care. The report continues, asserting that in 88 percent of cases, ICE detention medical staff made incorrect or incomplete diagnoses.
For instance, the report notes, Jesse Jerome Dean, Jr. died from an undiagnosed gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
“Although Dean…lost almost 20 pounds in three weeks, and suffered severe nausea, the detention facility’s medical staff never referred him to a physician,” the report highlights.
The report also cites Emigdio Abel Reyes Clemente, who died from untreated bacterial pneumonia after medical staff assumed, without testing, that he had influenza.
In 79 percent of the reviewed cases, treatment did not meet medical standards or was delayed, according to the report.
The report notes: Carlos Mejia-Bonilla died of gastrointestinal bleeding four days after receiving naproxen, which is an indication of cirrhosis, and Wilfredo Padron died of a heart attack after medical staff at Monroe County Detention Center failed to conduct an EKG or refer him to a doctor despite his complaints of chest pain and high blood pressure.
The report also asserts that in 40 percent of the deaths, ICE detention facilities failed to provide timely emergency care or had inoperable emergency equipment.
For example, Anthony Alexander Jones died of a heart attack at Adams County Detention Center in Mississippi, cites the report, adding, “Medical staff did not discover him until 45 minutes after his heart attack and waited another 10 minutes before they initiated CPR.”
Similar delays contributed to the deaths of both Nebane Abienwi and Huy Chi Tran, said the report, that found an increase in suicides due to inadequate mental health care and medication management.
As written in the report, Efrain de la Rosa, diagnosed with schizophrenia, died by suicide after not receiving his antipsychotic medication. Alternately, Mergansana Amar died by suicide at Northwest Detention Center in Washington after ICE officers informed him of his deportation.
“Despite several warning signs, ICE failed to provide mental health support,” the report states.
Detention facilities often fail to provide necessary interpretation and translation services, according to the authors of the report.
Simratpal Singh, who knew only a few words of English, died by suicide after his condition was misunderstood after the “nurse on duty relied on his appearance alone to assess his mental state,” the report explains.
During the pandemic, the report outlines how ICE failed to provide basic protections and transferred detainees between outbreak facilities, exacerbating the spread of the virus.
James Thomas Hill, a 72-year-old, died after contracting COVID-19 at the Immigration Centers of America Farmville in Virginia, said the report, adding, “Hill’s deportation was delayed for two months, a delay that proved fatal as he contracted COVID-19.”
Many facilities also operate with insufficient medical and mental health staff, as detailed in the report.
Kamyar Samimi’s death at Aurora Detention Center in Colorado highlighted these issues, with only one doctor for the entire facility and several unfilled positions, the report said, adding, “Samimi never received a health appraisal from a physician or registered nurse during his detention.”
The report suggests ICE should phase out mass detention, investing instead in community-based services, stating, “The reliance on immigration detention is unnecessary, expensive, and deeply harmful.”
Another report suggestion is that ICE should ensure the immediate release of individuals with medical or mental health vulnerabilities. This includes implementing procedures for prompt medical screening and presumption of release for those at increased risk.
The report advises that until fully prohibited, solitary confinement should be banned for vulnerable individuals, including those with disabilities, mental health conditions, or those who are LGBTQ+ or gender non-conforming.
The report’s authors advocate for facilities responsible for deaths due to substandard care to face contract terminations, stating, “ICE must ensure meaningful consequences for detention facilities.”
The report also moves for death investigations to be thorough and unbiased, preserving all relevant evidence and interviewing all necessary witnesses, explaining “Full-spectrum forensic autopsies and psychological autopsies for apparent suicides are essential.”
Another proposal to aid this issue is for detention facilities to provide timely, quality medical and mental care, stated the report, including binding all facilities to the 2016 Performance Based National Detention Standards and ensuring sufficient healthcare staffing levels.
Congress should also substantially reduce funding for immigration detention and increase support for community-based alternatives by conducting rigorous oversight of detention conditions and requiring ICE to publicly report on deaths and corrective actions, recommends the report.
And, along with efforts from Congress, the report suggests state and local governments should pass legislation to prohibit detention facility expansions and ensure accountability for detention-related deaths.
