Hickenlooper, Colleagues Sound Alarm on Deaths in Immigration Detention Under Trump

30+ individuals have died in ICE detention since the start of the Trump administration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper along with 21 of his Senate colleagues sounded the alarm on the dramatic increase in deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. Since the start of the Trump administration, over 30 individuals have died in ICE custody - including seven in December alone, and another six already in 2026. In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and ICE senior official Todd Lyons, the senators condemn the increase in deaths and demand immediate accountability.

"This rapidly increasing number of deaths is a clear byproduct of the Trump Administration's dangerous and poorly executed mass deportation agenda-one focused on detaining as many immigrants as possible, not just the 'worst of the worst,' for extended periods of time. We urge you to use the unprecedented resources at your disposal to reinvigorate your agency's detention oversight efforts, investigate these deaths, and provide those in your custody with adequate medical care," wrote the senators.

"Though deaths in detention have occurred under every Administration, under your leadership, individuals are dying in shocking numbers. Rather than accepting responsibility for deaths in government custody and providing detailed facts about the circumstances of each death, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has attempted to smear deceased individuals' reputations by emphasizing details about their immigration status and their alleged wrongdoing in the United States," continued the senators.

The senators cited incidents of death in detention, including guards choking a man to death, an apparent suicide, and others. They highlighted that ICE has used its unprecedented funding surge from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to significantly expand its detention capacity. ICE is now holding over 67,000 people across the country and, earlier this year, reached a record high of approximately 73,000- many of whom have no criminal history.

Recently, the Trump administration partnered with private companies to drastically scale up its detention capacity. Those plans include a new ICE facility in Hudson, Colorado. Another proposed facility near Phoenix would be seven times the size of a football field and cost $70 million. ICE is also reopening centers that were previously shuttered due to chronic staffing shortages and medical issues.

"At a time when record numbers of people are dying in ICE custody, it is unacceptable that the agency continues to restrict congressional oversight of detention facilities, including by unlawfully requiring Members of Congress to alert ICE seven days prior to detention visits, a policy recently blocked by a federal court, and failing to provide mandated reporting with details about the deaths," the senators concluded.

Hickenlooper has consistently pushed for more oversight and transparency for federal immigration enforcement efforts, and has worked to help families desperately searching for loved ones arrested by ICE. Last month, Hickenlooper spoke on the Senate floor to denounce the horrifying killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, condemned the reports that families in Eagle County found "death cards" left in the cars of family members taken by ICE agents, and demanded that Congress overhaul ICE. He's shown up at ICE facilities to conduct congressional oversight visits and raise concerns about ICE disregarding due process. He helped launch an investigation into ICE's unlawful obstruction of congressional oversight and introduced bills to ban ICE from wearing masks, prevent immigration enforcement from targeting schools, hospitals, polling locations, and places of worship, and cut back the excessive funding that MAGA Republicans gave them.

Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

Dear Secretary Noem and Mr. Lyons:

Even as the country reels from the senseless deaths of Americans killed or grievously injured by federal agents in Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles, we have also been shocked to see the dramatic increase in deaths in immigration detention on your watch. Seven people died in the month of December 2025 alone, and six have died since the start of the new year. This rapidly increasing number of deaths is a clear byproduct of the Trump Administration's dangerous and poorly executed mass deportation agenda-one focused on detaining as many immigrants as possible, not just the "worst of the worst," for extended periods of time. We urge you to use the unprecedented resources at your disposal to reinvigorate your agency's detention oversight efforts, investigate these deaths, and provide those in your custody with adequate medical care.

According to the autopsy report, a recent death in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention was officially ruled a homicide, and fellow detainees, whom the Department seeks to deport, described witnessing guards choking the man to death. Another person died of an apparent suicide at the same facility only days later. In 2025, ICE reported 32 deaths, the most deaths in ICE detention in any year since 2004. Based on the available evidence, many of the reported deaths appear to have been preventable.

Armed with an unprecedented and unjustified funding increase from the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ICE has dramatically expanded its detention capacity and now is holding approximately 73,000 people nationwide-many with no criminal history-while failing to release even the most vulnerable individuals. The Administration recently doubled down on its commitment to scale up detention, soliciting private companies to warehouse staggering numbers of immigrants in massive industrial facilities capable of housing up to 8,000 people at once. By comparison, the largest federal prison has approximately 4,000 inmates. New massive facilities -one near Phoenix cost $70 million and is the size of seven football fields-add to the rapidly expanding number of detention contracts held by private prison companies and local and county jails. ICE is even reopening facilities that previously were closed due to medical neglect and systemic understaffing.

Individuals of all ages and backgrounds have died in ICE custody, some only a short time after entering a detention facility and many after living in the United States for decades. Though deaths in detention have occurred under every Administration, under your leadership, individuals are dying in shocking numbers. Rather than accepting responsibility for deaths in government custody and providing detailed facts about the circumstances of each death, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has attempted to smear deceased individuals' reputations by emphasizing details about their immigration status and their alleged wrongdoing in the United States.

The Administration also repeatedly has alleged, contrary to all evidence, that ICE detention conditions and medical care are adequate. These false claims have been made despite the fact that ICE has not paid third-party medical providers since October 2025, allegedly leading to the denial of medical care and essential treatment.1Even ICE internal audits have documented significant failures to meet medical care standards. At Camp East Montana- where three detained individuals recently died in just over one month-ICE auditors determined medical care contractors had, in some cases, failed to fill out medical charts and do intake screenings and did not "identify emergent or past chronic medical conditions, mental illness issues such as suicidal/homicidal ideation or intent that could lead to detainee life-safety issue."

All available evidence debunks any suggestion that current detention conditions and medical care in immigration detention are adequate. According to agency records, individuals who have died had COVID-19, kidney disease, heart disease, and diabetes, among other treatable diseases. An analysis of phone calls to 911, from 10 of the largest detention facilities during the first six months of the Trump Administration, described a system overwhelmed by unmet medical needs and attempts to obtain urgent care. Of the 400 emergency calls, 50 involved possible cardiac events, 26 described seizures, and 17 were for head injuries. Seven involved suicide attempts or self-harm, such as overdoses or hangings, and six alleged sexual abuse, including at least one reported incident of staff-on-detainee abuse.

Doctors also have reported that federal immigration agents are interfering with medical care of detained immigrants who are referred to hospital settings for emergency care. Administrators at a hospital in Los Angeles, for example, reported that federal agents told doctors not to reach out to family members to determine what type of medication a person was on and would not allow private consultations between detained individuals and doctors.

Reports and lawsuits continue to document dangerous detention conditions in detention facilities. Consider the February death of Maksym Chernyak, who was detained at the Krome facility in Miami and died in custody after suffering a stroke in February. Staff waited more than 40 minutes before calling 911. Later that day, it was determined he had irreversible brain damage, and he died two days later. The death was especially heartbreaking in that, according to a medical expert, "[t]here was this neurological emergency-someone who was not responsive after a seizure-and a medical professional did not activate 911 for 45 minutes." Reports have also emerged of pregnant women who have miscarried or bled for hours without access to care or were shackled while miscarrying. DHS recently acknowledged that the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center alone has been the site of four miscarriages.

It is unacceptable that record numbers of people are dying in ICE custody. The Department must comply with detention standards at every facility detaining immigrants and stop its efforts to restrict congressional oversight of detention facilities, including by unlawfully requiring Members of Congress to alert ICE seven days prior to detention visits, a policy recently blocked by a federal court, and failing to provide mandated reporting with details about the deaths. Each death in ICE custody is a tragedy and, based on the evidence available from agency records, 911 calls, and medical experts, many could have been prevented if not for this Administration's decisions. To address these urgent concerns, we request that you provide answers to the following questions and information requests by February 27, 2026:

1. What actions has ICE taken to address the rising deaths of detained individuals in custody, including any changes to medical screening, suicide prevention, emergency response, or mortality review procedures? Please provide copies of any supporting records.

1. What is the legal rationale for excluding facilities like Alligator Alcatraz, or any other state or local facilities operating pursuant to a similar partnership with ICE, from ICE's inspection, reporting, or detention-standards compliance structure? Please provide copies of any legal analysis and supporting records.

1. Are detainees who are held in state or local facilities like Alligator Alcatraz included in ICE's required detainee-death notification and review procedures? If ICE considers these individuals outside the review process, please provide copies of any legal analysis and supporting records.

1. What oversight offices are currently responsible for monitoring ICE detention conditions?

• For each office, describe its current staffing levels, investigative authorities, role in the detainee-death review process, and jurisdiction, including any limitations on oversight of facilities that are not integrated into ICE's detention-tracking systems.

• For each office, outline current authority, or lack of authority, to inspect, monitor, or evaluate detention facilities operated by state or local governments.

1. Provide records describing the role of ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) with respect to death investigations and the status of investigations regarding each detained individual who has died since January 20, 2025.

• Please include any records describing changes to OPR's Office of Detention Oversight detention facility inspections, including any changes to the number of required inspections and guidance for facility inspections, since January 20, 2025.

1. Provide all records since January 20, 2025, related to changes or future changes in any of ICE's detention standards, including communications with contractors regarding changes to detention standards. Please also respond immediately to pending oversight letters related to detention expansion, the dismantling of internal oversight offices, and ICE's hiring practices.

We look forward to your prompt response and attention to this important request.

Sincerely,

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