Leading Democrat Calls Rise in ICE Detention Deaths Under...

By Dan Gooding

Politics Reporter

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Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, told Newsweek on Friday that the number of deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention is “unprecedented” after almost two decades monitoring conditions.

“We've had long-standing concerns about ICE detention and the facilities and the conditions that are in the detention centers, but as ICE has ramped up so incredibly rapidly, often with no bid contracts, people who have no experience running detention centers and the mass deportations, it's all gotten much worse,” Jayapal said.

The congresswoman added: “One tangible way that I track that, as the top Democrat on the immigration subcommittee, is I get notices about deaths in ICE detention and the number of deaths that have happened just since Trump took office are really stunning.”

Jayapal is one of several lawmakers who have become increasingly concerned about conditions in ICE facilities, in particular wanting to know the circumstances which have led to an increase in deaths within detention centers under the current White House.

In the past week, the family of a Chinese national who was found with a bedsheet around his neck in a shower stall, told Newsweek that they needed more answers around the circumstances which led to Chaofeng Ge’s death in August.

The 32-year-old was found “hog-tied” according to an autopsy report, leaving his family confused over how exactly he died at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center (MVPC) in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.

“What caught my eye about this one is we were not given the information about the autopsy and any death of somebody hanging is horrific, so that caught my attention first, and then the reporting after on the autopsy, those were not details that were given to us,” Jayapal told Newsweek, adding that lawmakers were now carrying out their own investigation into Ge’s death.

“There are a lot of questions about this, but obviously we just keep hearing these horrific stories, including at the immigration subcommittee shadow hearings I’ve been holding myself as Republicans refuse to hold any hearings on this,” the Democrat lawmaker said.

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Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, at least 12 ICE detainees have died while in the agency’s custody, either within detention centers or in a hospital. That is the same number as in the entirety of the 2024 fiscal year. Experts warned earlier in the year that it was inevitable more deaths would occur, as arrests of alleged illegal immigrants increased.

Jayapal told Newsweek that she had been monitoring immigration detention centers since 2008, and that this job had become far more difficult since Trump's return to the Oval Office.

Under U.S. law, members of Congress are supposed to be able to inspect ICE detention centers, but there have been repeated instances where this has been denied to them, including in New Jersey and Chicago.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that there is a process of requests to be made, with a 72-hour notice period, and that some lawmakers are trying to make political points by visiting rather than for transparency.

Jayapal said it was important for officials to be able to see inside these facilities, having worked during the Biden administration to shut down one center in Georgia where women had been allegedly subjected for forced sterilizations.

“That detention center is now being reopened by the Trump administration,” the congresswoman said.

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DHS has repeatedly dismissed concerns about conditions within ICE facilities, raised by those in Congress, human rights organizations, and immigrants themselves, including those who have previously spoken to Newsweek.

In October, as part of efforts to debunk what it called “false reporting,” DHS said that “any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members.”

The statement is one which has been made multiple times, while DHS has also said it takes every death in detention seriously, with thorough investigations for each one. A similar statement was issued to Newsweek earlier this week when asked about Ge’s death.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek at the time that “all in-custody deaths are tragic, taken seriously, and are thoroughly investigated by law enforcement. ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously.”

Jayapal said that there were centers which were providing adequate care for immigrants, but that the situation was now “unprecedented, because at least before we were able to have the inspector general issue a report, and there were some recommendations that were taken.”

Now, the Democrat said she felt there was little oversight and accountability for ICE facilities, especially as they rapidly expand, with new or repurposed centers opening in order to house the 100,000-plus immigrants now accounted for in the agency’s expanded budget.

The congresswoman’s efforts to hold the administration to account comes at a time when there could be risks in doing so. Last week, Democrats who voiced concerns about the Trump administration’s moves by telling military personnel they are able to refuse illegal orders were accused of sedition, with the president calling for them to be arrested.

Jayapal told Newsweek that “the horror of the moment” keeps her going.

“Because I've been doing the shadow hearings, because I'm the top Democrat on the committee, because I'm still very closely tied in to a lot of groups around the country that work on immigration, call me,” she said. “I have never seen anything like this, and I have worked on this for decades now. I have never seen anything like the violence, and the cruelty, and the inhumanity, both in the streets and in the detention centers, and so the urgency of addressing it is just so great.”