{"id":334901,"date":"2026-01-17T11:24:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T16:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/?post_type=to4_article_post&#038;p=334901"},"modified":"2026-01-17T11:24:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T16:24:04","slug":"deaths-in-detention-warn-of-horrors-behind-ices-prison-walls","status":"publish","type":"to4_article_post","link":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/deaths-in-detention-warn-of-horrors-behind-ices-prison-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"Deaths in Detention Warn of Horrors Behind ICE\u2019s Prison Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"truth-post-content-before\" id=\"truth-3940585306\"><div class=\"callout callout inline-callout mb-5 callout--text callout--text\" id=\"truth-304218\" data-callout-id=\"304218\" data-callout-theme=\"text\" data-callout-placement=\"Undefined\" data-callout-title=\"BCB 304218 Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news...\"><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news \u2014 make a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/support.truthout.org\/-\/XXQLBDSX\/&amp;utm_source=truthout&amp;utm_medium=bcb&amp;utm_campaign=304218\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quick donation<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to Truthout today!\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>All eyes are on the Trump administration\u2019s brutal \u201cimmigration enforcement\u201d operation in Minnesota, where roving squads of federal agents in Minneapolis are demanding proof of citizenship from people of color on the street and lashing out  against residents enraged by the deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Far less visible is the rapidly expanding, nationwide network of jails and prisons where ICE and Border Patrol lock people up after they are arrested, and that is almost certainly by design. Four people died in federal immigration jails so far in 2026, and at least <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ng-interactive\/2026\/jan\/04\/ice-2025-deaths-timeline#:~:text=Thirty%2Dtwo%20people%20died%20in,the%20US%20recently%2C%20seeking%20asylum\">32 people died<\/a> in ICE jails over the course of 2025 as President Donald Trump ramped up his mass deportation campaign. The death count for 2025 constituted the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org\/report\/immigration-detention\/\">most deaths<\/a> in ICE jails ever recorded outside the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we are seeing that sort of outward extreme violence in broad daylight in the streets of Minneapolis and streets across the country, imagine what people must be facing behind closed doors and behind bars in ICE detention centers,\u201d said Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at the Detention Watch Network, in an interview with<em> Truthout.<\/em><\/p><div class=\"truth-post-content-high\" id=\"truth-4255880065\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout--subscribe callout--dark\" id=\"truth-255396\" data-callout-id=\"255396\" data-callout-theme=\"dark\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - High\" data-callout-title=\"Don&#039;t miss a beat\"><h2>Don&#8217;t miss a beat<\/h2>\n<p>Get the latest news and thought-provoking analysis from <em>Truthout<\/em>.<\/p>\n<script>\nvar gform;gform||(document.addEventListener(\"gform_main_scripts_loaded\",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),document.addEventListener(\"gform\/theme\/scripts_loaded\",function(){gform.themeScriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,themeScriptsLoaded:!1,isFormEditor:()=>\"function\"==typeof InitializeEditor,callIfLoaded:function(o){return!(!gform.domLoaded||!gform.scriptsLoaded||!gform.themeScriptsLoaded&&!gform.isFormEditor()||(gform.isFormEditor()&&console.warn(\"The use of gform.initializeOnLoaded() is deprecated in the form editor context and will be removed in Gravity Forms 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);\n<\/script>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\"><blockquote><p>\u201cIf we are seeing that sort of outward extreme violence in broad daylight in the streets of Minneapolis, imagine what people must be facing behind closed doors and behind bars in ICE detention centers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The number of people imprisoned by ICE increased by 75 percent to nearly 66,000 in 2025, and despite repeated claims by administration officials about targeting \u201cthe worst of the worst,\u201d nearly 74 percent have no criminal convictions, <a href=\"https:\/\/tracreports.org\/immigration\/quickfacts\/detention.html#detention_held\">according<\/a> to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse immigration database. ICE\u2019s \u201croving patrols\u201d and \u201cindiscriminate raids\u201d have contributed to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org\/report\/immigration-detention\/\">2,450 percent increase <\/a>in the number of people with no criminal record held in ICE detention on any given day, according to the American Immigration Council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ghandehari told <em>Truthout <\/em>that ICE has long faced allegations of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2025\/07\/21\/you-feel-like-your-life-is-over\/abusive-practices-at-three-florida-immigration\">allowing abuse<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/senate-report-details-dozens-of-cases-of-medical-neglect-in-federal-immigration-detention-centers\">medical neglect<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/ice-under-fire-for-solitary-confinement-of-immigrants-amid-suicide-attempts\/\">inhumane conditions<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/incarcerated-immigrants-are-being-tortured\/\">and solitary confinement<\/a> in its network of jails and prisons, which are used to incarcerate people facing deportation orders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ICE\u2019s carceral facilities are <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/private-prison-companies-are-raking-in-profits-from-increased-deportations\/\">often run by for-profit prison companies<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/asylum-seekers-are-being-disappeared-in-private-louisiana-jails\/\">local sheriffs acting as contractors<\/a>. While many detainees are held at remote facilities in Louisiana and Texas, far from families and legal support, Ghandehari said ICE is now operating nearly 200 jails nationwide after opening or reopening more than 130 facilities in 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat we have seen and are seeing in Minneapolis is enraging; it\u2019s unacceptable, it\u2019s out of control, but unfortunately it is unsurprising given that ICE is inherently a violent agency, and what we are now seeing in Minneapolis is really the manifestation of years of ICE being allowed to act with impunity,\u201d Ghandehari told <em>Truthout<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On January 15, the county medical examiner in El Paso, Texas, announced that the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old man held at a massive immigration detention center at El Paso\u2019s Fort Bliss military base, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/immigration\/2026\/01\/15\/ice-detention-death-homicide\/\">was likely a homicide<\/a>. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Campos was attempting to kill himself and violently resisted when officers intervened but provided no evidence to back up that claim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignleft\"><blockquote><p>&#8220;What we are now seeing in Minneapolis is really the manifestation of years of ICE being allowed to act with impunity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The most recent deaths among those imprisoned by ICE also include 46-year-old Parady La from Cambodia, who was arrested and jailed by ICE on January 6 and died three days later after receiving \u201ctreatment for severe drug withdrawal at the Federal Detention Center\u201d in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to DHS. La was found unresponsive in his cell the next day and was later pronounced dead of brain and organ failure at a nearby hospital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Withdrawal from certain drugs and alcohol can be fatal but is easily treatable with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uptodate.com\/contents\/opioid-withdrawal-medically-supervised-withdrawal-during-treatment-for-opioid-use-disorder\">medical supervision<\/a> and proper medications. In an attempt to revive La, DHS claims federal officers administered CPR and naloxone, a drug used to treat opioid overdoses, not withdrawal symptoms. The Bureau of Prisons <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bop.gov\/resources\/pdfs\/medically_supervised_withdrawal_cg.pdf\">maintains a protocol<\/a> for safely supervising drug withdrawal in federal detention facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jonathan Feinberg, an attorney for La\u2019s family, said nobody should die in custody from opiate withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe do not at this point know exactly what happened to Parady La, but the circumstances that have been reported are highly suspicious and concerning,\u201d Feinberg wrote in an email to <em>Truthout <\/em>on Friday. \u201cWe intend to conduct a full investigation and pursue every legal remedy available to his family.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A 2024 report by Physicians for Human Rights <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/new-report-finds-nearly-all-deaths-in-ice-custody-over-5-years-were-preventable\/\">examined 52 deaths in ICE custody from 2017 to 2021<\/a> and found that 95 percent were preventable or possibly preventable if appropriate medical care had been provided. Civil liberties and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2018\/06\/20\/us-poor-medical-care-deaths-immigrant-detention\">international human rights groups<\/a> have sounded alarm bells about medical neglect and preventable deaths in ICE custody <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detentionwatchnetwork.org\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/Fatal%20Neglect%20ACLU-DWN-NIJC.pdf\">for over a decade. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ICE did not respond to a request for comment by the time this story was published. However, the official statement on La\u2019s death includes a list of mostly minor drug and alcohol violations and accuses the man of being a \u201ccareer criminal,\u201d reflecting a larger pattern of ICE smearing people who are harmed at the hands of its agents. After Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis while attempting to pull away from the scene in her vehicle on January 7, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem baselessly accused the mother and poet of being a \u201cdomestic terrorist.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other recent deaths in ICE custody include Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, 68, who was detained at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in California and died on January 6, and Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42, who was detained at the Joe Corley Processing Center in Texas and died on January 5, according to Detention Watch Network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou can imagine how bad the conditions have been getting,\u201d Ghandehari said. \u201cIt\u2019s not even a full two weeks into this new year, and we already have four deaths in ICE custody.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ICE cannot place U.S. citizens in detention for extended periods of time, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025.12.8_ICE-Report-revised-FINAL.pdf\">multiple citizens<\/a> have reportedly been arrested by ICE under Trump\u2019s crackdown, <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/video\/us-citizen-detained-by-ice-during-raid-on-ca-farm-is-suing-trump-administration\/\">including George Retes<\/a>, a U.S. veteran who was wrongly detained by ICE in California for three days after a chaotic raid on a cannabis farm in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\"><blockquote><p>ICE cannot place U.S. citizens in detention for extended periods of time, but multiple citizens have reportedly been arrested by ICE under Trump\u2019s crackdown.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/02\/04\/kristi-noem-south-dakota-tribe-banned-border\">Oglala Sioux Tribe<\/a>, one of the largest tribal nations in the U.S., has accused ICE of illegally holding four members arrested during raids in Minneapolis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/01\/13\/oglala-sioux-tribe-ice-holding-tribal-members\">according<\/a> to <em>Axios.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/dec\/17\/lamonica-mciver-congress-new-jersey-charge\">New Jersey <\/a>to<a href=\"https:\/\/cisneros.house.gov\/media\/in-the-news\/3-southern-california-democrats-denied-entry-high-desert-ice-detention-center\"> California<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/noem-restricts-congressional-ice-oversight-day-after-renee-good-killing\/\">Minnesota<\/a>, immigration officials have barred Democratic lawmakers from entering ICE jails to conduct unannounced inspections and check on incarcerated constituents. A federal judge recently struck down a policy requiring advance notice from lawmakers, but Noem instituted a new policy that <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/noem-restricts-congressional-ice-oversight-day-after-renee-good-killing\/\">blocked Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and other Democrats<\/a> from visiting the central ICE holding facility in the Twin Cities shortly after Good was killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen we appropriate funds as members of Congress, we are expected by the public to do oversight because the public requires their money be used with transparency and accountability,\u201d Omar told reporters on January 10. \u201cAnd what happened today is ICE agents decided that we were no longer allowed to fulfill our constitutional duties.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) says he may be the only member of Congress to conduct an oversight visit to an ICE jail under the Trump administration. Khanna and a staff member visited ICE California City Detention Center on January 6, the largest ICE prison in California. Khanna made the visit after one of his constituents \u201cwas beaten, unlawfully detained, and held at this very facility before being deported,\u201d according to a social media post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Khanna said he was \u201cdeeply disturbed\u201d by his visit to the ICE prison, which currently holds nearly 1,500 people. When he spoke to families in the parking lot, they described their loved ones being subjected to \u201cinadequate food, visible mold, and water that tastes like metal.\u201d A lack of medical care was the most alarming failure, Khanna said, with one detainee telling the congressman that he was urinating blood but still had not received medical care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor illnesses like the flu, medicine is rarely provided; at best, [an] ibuprofen is given, but more often detainees are told to buy basic medicine from the commissary at exaggerated, unaffordable prices,\u201d Khanna said. \u201cWith reportedly only one doctor for hundreds of people, the neglect is structural.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Congress faces a self-imposed January 30 deadline to pass legislation funding the government, which gives lawmakers a chance to rein in ICE by defunding the infrastructure that makes Trump\u2019s brutal \u201cimmigration\u201d crackdown possible, including the expanding network of ICE jails and prisons, according to Ghandehari. ICE\u2019s budget is <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/schumer-and-jeffries-refuse-to-back-growing-democratic-calls-to-defund-ice\/\">set to balloon by $170 billion<\/a> under the megabill championed by Trump and passed by Republicans in July 2025, but some progressive Democrats are now <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/schumer-and-jeffries-refuse-to-back-growing-democratic-calls-to-defund-ice\/\">pushing to defund the agency.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey can&#8217;t do what they are doing without infrastructure that has been built up over decades,\u201d Ghandehari told <em>Truthout<\/em>, explaining that the only way to stop the Trump administration\u2019s violence is by starting to dismantle ICE\u2019s infrastructure. \u201dThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so important that Congress do the right things this week and start the process of cutting ICE off.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"truth-post-content-after\" id=\"truth-1196110074\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout-- callout--white\" id=\"truth-334871\" data-callout-id=\"334871\" data-callout-theme=\"white\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - After\" data-callout-title=\"2026-01 Main Campaign (FRU) Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-start\">\n<h5 class=\"pb-2\" style=\"text-transform: uppercase; font-family: var(--bs-font-sans-serif); text-align: center;\">Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.<\/h5>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Progressive nonprofits are the latest target caught in Trump\u2019s crosshairs. With the aim of eliminating political opposition, Trump and his sycophants are working to curb government funding, constrain private foundations, and even cut tax-exempt status from organizations he dislikes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We\u2019re concerned, because Truthout is not immune to such bad-faith attacks.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can only resist Trump\u2019s attacks by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Truthout has launched a fundraiser to raise $45,000 in the next 8 days. <\/strong>Please take a meaningful action in the fight against authoritarianism: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout. If you have the means, please dig deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m-0\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#XEGQPXGY\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At least 32 people died in ICE jails in 2025, and four more have already died in ICE custody this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":334902,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[91698],"tags":[1064,176774,131789,3848],"section":[91715],"primary_topic":[91711],"series":[],"admin_tag":[],"class_list":["post-334901","to4_article_post","type-to4_article_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ice","tag-immigrant-jails","tag-migrant-jails","tag-trump-administration","section-immigration","primary_topic-immigration"],"acf":[],"related_articles":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post\/334901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/to4_article_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334901"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=334901"},{"taxonomy":"primary_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_topic?post=334901"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=334901"},{"taxonomy":"admin_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_tag?post=334901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}