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ICE internal reviews found deficient care before most detainee deaths

ICE internal reviews found deficient care before most detainee deaths

Rule Changes

A newspaper analysis of 29 deaths found 23 followed medical care that ICE's own investigators judged outside safe practice.

3 days ago: New Republic reports 23 of 29 deaths followed deficient care

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Marie Ange Blaise collapsed at a Florida detention center in April 2025. Internal reviewers later found staff did not start CPR even though she had no pulse. A New Republic analysis published Nov. 6, 2026, found that pattern in most of the deaths it reviewed: 23 of 29 detainees received care ICE itself judged outside safe limits.

ICE's mortality reviews are supposed to catch medical failures and prevent repeats. The agency briefly posted 33 of them online in September 2026, then removed them, according to Reason. ICE says detainee deaths have not spiked, but 2025 had the most such deaths since 2003 and 31 people died in detention in 2026 by early November.

Why it matters

ICE's own reviewers found deficient care before most detainee deaths a newspaper examined, while the agency disputes that deaths are rising.

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Key Indicators

23
Deaths preceded by deficient care
Of 29 deaths reviewed by New Republic, ICE investigators found care outside safe limits in 23.
31
Deaths in ICE detention in 2026
As of the Nov. 6 New Republic report.
68,000
People in ICE detention, Feb. 2026
Up from about 39,000 in December 2024, according to KFF.
46
Deaths since January 2025
ICE reported 46 deaths in custody as of March 18, 2026.
27
Reviews finding care outside safe limits
Of 31 mortality reviews that reached a conclusion, Reason reported.

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People Involved

MB
Marie Ange Blaise
44-year-old Haitian national who died in ICE detention
Died in April 2025 at Broward Transitional Center
IA
Ismael Ayala-Uribe
39-year-old detainee who died of a skin infection at Adelanto
Died in 2025 at Adelanto ICE Processing Center
 Markwayne Mullin
Markwayne Mullin
Secretary of Homeland Security
Leads DHS, which oversees ICE
LU
Lucia Uribe
Mother of Ismael Ayala-Uribe
Publicly described her son's death as medical negligence

Organizations Involved

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Federal law enforcement agency
Subject of internal mortality reviews and public-records dispute

The agency that detains immigrants facing deportation and contracts with private companies to run many facilities.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Federal agency
Parent agency of ICE

The cabinet department that oversees ICE and border enforcement.
The GEO Group, Inc.
The GEO Group, Inc.
Private prison and detention services company
Operated Adelanto and Broward detention facilities

A private company that contracted with ICE to run detention centers where internal reviews found medical failures.
PS
Project Salt Box
Government accountability group
Downloaded and republished ICE mortality reviews

A nonprofit group that preserved internal ICE reports after they were removed from the agency's website.

Timeline

January 2025 November 2026

10 events Latest: 3 days ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. New Republic reports 23 of 29 deaths followed deficient care

    Latest Media

    The analysis is based on internal ICE reports obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

  2. Reason reports deletion of ICE mortality reviews

    Media

    The Intercept's FOIA attorney discovered the reports before they were removed.

  3. ICE removes mortality reviews from website

    Disclosure

    The reports disappear four days after being posted.

  4. ICE posts 33 mortality reviews online

    Disclosure

    The reviews cover deaths from September 2019 to January 2026.

  5. ICE reports 46 deaths since January 2025

    Data

    KFF analysis finds 2025 had the most detainee deaths in over two decades.

  6. Review finds Adelanto care deviated beyond safe limits

    Investigation

    ICE mortality review cites four violations of national detention standards in Ayala-Uribe's death.

  7. ICE detention population exceeds 68,000

    Data

    The number is up more than 70% from December 2024.

  8. ICE waives 14-day health assessment rule at Adelanto

    Policy

    The waiver is meant to address a backlog of medical cases as the detained population surged.

  9. Marie Ange Blaise dies at Broward Transitional Center

    Death

    Internal review later finds staff did not start CPR despite her having no pulse.

  10. Trump administration begins mass detention push

    Policy

    ICE detention population rises from about 39,000 in December 2024 to more than 68,000 by February 2026.

Scenarios

1

Court orders ICE to republish full mortality reviews

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: The Intercept and Reason, which reported on the FOIA lawsuit and the removed reports

A federal judge could order ICE to restore the 33 mortality reviews to its public records library. The Intercept's FOIA lawsuit already led an attorney to discover the reports before they were removed. A court order would make the documents permanently public and could force ICE to explain why they were taken down.

2

ICE adopts binding medical-care standard for detention

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Members of Congress and immigrant-rights groups who have pressed DHS on detention conditions

Congress or DHS could require ICE to enforce the 14-day health assessment rule at every facility and to standardize CPR training. The internal reviews found repeated failures across facilities and years. A binding standard would change the rules that govern contractors, not just the reports that describe deaths.

3

No national standard, deaths and lawsuits continue

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: KFF and the AP, which have documented rising detention deaths and allegations of medical neglect

If ICE does not change its standards, the pattern described in the mortality reviews could continue. Detainees and families have already filed lawsuits over deaths at Adelanto and other facilities. More deaths would likely produce more litigation and congressional scrutiny, but not necessarily a new national rule.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

July 2024

ACLU 'Deadly Failures' review of ICE detainee deaths (2024)

The American Civil Liberties Union analyzed ICE mortality reviews and found that investigators focused on individual cases rather than facility-wide policies. The reviews rarely recommended changes that could prevent similar deaths.

Then

The report added to existing criticism of ICE's detention oversight but did not produce a new national medical standard.

Now

The pattern it described, reviews that document failures without forcing systemic fixes, reappears in the 2026 mortality reviews.

Why this matters now

The current internal reports reach similar conclusions about deficient care, but they were briefly made public and then removed.

2025

Rising ICE detention deaths in 2025 (2025)

ICE detained more people than at any time in recent years, and 2025 saw the most immigrant detainee deaths since 2003. Facilities struggled with staffing and medical capacity as the detained population grew.

Then

ICE disputed claims of a death spike and said its facilities met national standards.

Now

Deaths continued into 2026, and internal reviews found deficient care in most cases examined by reporters.

Why this matters now

The 2026 reports describe the same conditions, overcrowding and medical delays, that accompanied the 2025 increase in deaths.

Sources

(6)
The New Republic Reason KFF Scripps News ACLU U.S. House of Representatives