In some cases, they jailed distressed detainees in #isolation, which can exacerbate feelings of #humiliation & #helplessness, acc/to experts.
#ICE has repeatedly asserted that it screens detainees within 12 hours of arrival for medical, dental & #MentalHealth conditions.
At least 3 of the 9 facilities where ICE detainees died by #suicide have struggled to meet that standard, acc/to ICE inspection reports & jail records.
#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #PublicHealth
#ICE becomes responsible for their well-being when they enter #detention, & experts say well-run lockups should have few, if any, suicides. That’s because staff can take steps to mitigate the chances that detainees harm themselves by identifying those at risk, getting them #care & monitoring them closely, experts said.
AP’s investigation found that ICE detention centers have repeatedly fallen short in ways that violate ICE’s own standards.
Detainees can also feel helplessness because of the complexity surrounding #immigration #law. Unlike those in the criminal justice system, most detainees do NOT have lawyers & their detention on immigration violations is [supposedly] not meant to be punitive [under other admins].
#Trump #ICE #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #suicide #MentalHealth
The reasons behind any #suicide are complex, & each death often has multiple contributing factors, acc/to experts. #ICE detainees report intense stress after being detained, fear of being returned to countries where their safety may be jeopardized, & frustration & loneliness over the inability to communicate due to language barriers.
#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #MentalHealth
The suicides account for nearly a fifth of the 51 deaths in #ICE custody since Jan 2025. The majority of those deaths were from “natural causes” & experts say many of them would have been preventable with timely #medical care.
#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #suicide #MentalHealth
9 of the deaths were of Hispanic men who had arrived in the US from 4 countries, the AP found. One man was a Chinese citizen. Their average age was 32. While #Trump has characterized those facing deportation as the “worst of the worst,” 7 of the 10 had NO record of violent crimes in the US.
#law #immigration #ICE #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #suicide #MentalHealth
“Something is going profoundly wrong from any kind of #PublicHealth or #MentalHealth perspective,” said Dr. Sanjay Basu, a University of California-San Francisco epidemiologist who cowrote a study documenting the increase in mortality & #suicide rates among #ICE detainees. “This is one of those alarming, sudden increases.”
#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #abuse #isolation
An AP investigation found that at least 10 detainees, all men, have died by #suicide since #Trump took office in Jan 2025, a pace that FAR EXCEEDS the growth in the detainee population, acc/to a review of #ICE data, autopsy reports, coroners’ rulings & police records. Since October, 7 deaths have been ruled suicides, a number that is already the most for ANY fiscal year in the agency’s history. ICE has usually recorded 1 or NO such deaths annually.
Rayo’s April 2025 death was the first suicide in a spike among #ICE detainees that has alarmed #PublicHealth officials & #jail experts. They said the unprecedented number of #suicide deaths is an indication that authorities are failing to properly oversee the detention of tens of thousands of #immigrants swept up in the #Trump admin’s aggressive #deportation strategy.
#law #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #abuse #isolation #MentalHealth
He pleaded with his jailers in handwritten notes to arrange a conversation with her. “I feel in my heart that she’s very worried about me,” he wrote in Spanish.
A guard collected the note & walked away. Within an hour, #jail records show, he was found unconscious in his cell. An autopsy determined he killed himself.
#law #Trump #immigration #ICE #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #suicide #MentalHealth
#ICE detainees are dying by #suicide at an 'alarming' rate, AP investigation finds
Brayan Rayo Garzon was distraught. Detained by ICE, he was on his fourth day of #isolation in a Missouri jail as he battled the fevers & chills of #COVID-19.
His request for #MentalHealth treatment had been put off, records show, & staff had forbidden Rayo from making his nightly call to his mother as a precaution intended to prevent the spread of illness.
#law #HumanRights #PublicHealth
apnews.com/article/ice-suicide…
