Stop Migrant Abuse at ICE Detention Centers

The Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration has led to a spike in detentions, with reports from ICE facilities across the country revealing a pattern of abuse, neglect, and inhumane conditions. Deaths in custody have increased, while investigations continue to uncover evidence of inadequate medical care, mistreatment, and other serious human rights violations. The disturbing trends include:

– Rising death tolls in ICE facilities. The alarming increase in deaths at ICE detention facilities raises serious concerns about medical neglect, overcrowding, and dangerous detention conditions.

– Abuses at Delaney Hall. More than 300 detainees at Delaney Hall, a privately-operated detention center in Newark, NJ, run by the for-profit GEO Group, have participated in a hunger strike to protest spoiled food, inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions, and physical abuse by guards. Gov. Mikie Sherrill and other elected officials have been denied access to the facility.

– Mass detention of children and babies. Since Trump took office in 2025, more than 6,300 children, toddlers, and infants have been detained, with some as young as 2 months old. Nearly half have been held at the Dilley family detention center in Texas, where families have reported inadequate medical care, lack of access to clean drinking water, and family separation. Prolonged detentions have become more common, with one family having been imprisoned at Dilley for 10 months before a federal judge ordered their release.

– Reduced reporting of deaths related to detention. ICE has stopped reporting deaths that occur within 30 days of a detainee’s release. Immigrant rights advocates warn that this further erodes accountability and incentivizes ICE to release detainees who are “on their deathbed."

– Detaining migrants with no criminal record. Despite Trump’s rhetoric about going after “the worst of the worst”, most people held in immigration detention have no criminal record, including the overwhelming majority of children and families detained at facilities such as Dilley. ABC News reports that only 3% of individuals detained by ICE had a violent felony conviction.

These developments reflect a detention system plagued by inadequate oversight, limited transparency, and a disregard for human dignity. Congress must address the credible reports of abuse and inhumane conditions in these facilities as a step towards ending dangerous detention practices nationwide.