ICE Detainee Suicide Deaths Draw New Scrutiny After AP Investigation
An Associated Press investigation found that at least 10 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, all men, have died by suicide since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, a pace that exceeds the growth in the detainee population.
The investigation reviewed ICE data, autopsy reports, coroners’ rulings and police records. Since October, seven deaths have been classified as suicides, already the highest number for any fiscal year in the agency’s history. ICE has usually recorded one or no suicide deaths annually.
Brayan Rayo Garzon was detained by ICE and placed in isolation at a Missouri jail while battling COVID 19 symptoms. Records reviewed by AP showed his request for mental health treatment had been delayed, and staff had barred him from making his nightly call to his mother as a precaution against spreading illness.
Rayo pleaded in handwritten notes for jail staff to let him speak with his mother, writing in Spanish that he felt she was worried about him. Within an hour after a guard collected one of the notes, jail records show he was found unconscious in his cell. An autopsy determined he died by suicide.
Public health officials and jail experts told AP the spike reflects serious concerns about how immigration detainees are being monitored and treated inside detention facilities.
Dr. Sanjay Basu, a University of California San Francisco epidemiologist who co wrote a study documenting rising mortality and suicide rates among ICE detainees, told AP, “Something is going profoundly wrong from any kind of public health or mental health perspective.”
AP found that nine of the deaths involved Hispanic men from four countries, while one man was a Chinese citizen. Their average age was 32. Seven of the 10 had no record of violent crimes in the U.S.
DHS Says Suicide Deaths In ICE Custody Remain Rare
Department of Homeland Security acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis told AP that suicide deaths in ICE custody remain “extremely rare.” She said detention staff follow protocols to protect detainees showing signs of self harm, and that ICE requires annual suicide prevention training.
Bis also said detainees receive comprehensive health care, including mental health services.
The AP investigation found that suicides account for nearly one fifth of the 51 deaths in ICE custody since January 2025. Most of the deaths were from natural causes, though experts said many may have been preventable with timely medical care.
AP’s investigation found that ICE detention centers repeatedly fell short of the agency’s own standards. Records showed staff in some facilities ignored signs of distress, delayed mental health treatment, failed to monitor detainees already considered at risk and allowed access to materials that could be used for self harm.
Some detainees in distress were also placed in isolation, which experts said can worsen feelings of humiliation and helplessness.
ICE has said detainees are screened within 12 hours of arrival for medical, dental and mental health conditions. AP found that at least three of the nine facilities where detainees died by suicide had struggled to meet that standard.
Deaths Spanned ICE’s Detention Network
The deaths occurred across ICE’s detention system, including private detention centers, county jails, a federal prison and a camp operated by a contractor that ICE later replaced.
Five men died in centers run by longtime ICE detention partners CoreCivic and GEO Group. A sixth died at a camp operated by an inexperienced contractor. Three died in jails run by sheriffs, and one died at a federal prison.
CoreCivic spokesperson Brian Todd told AP, “We are deeply saddened by and take very seriously the passing of any individual in our care.”
GEO Group spokesperson Christopher Ferreira said the company trains staff on suicide prevention and works “to maintain a safe and secure environment in compliance with the standards and requirements set by the federal government.”
Rayo’s Final Days Included Illness, Isolation And Missed Care
The Phelps County Jail in Rolla, Missouri, had started taking ICE detainees one month before Rayo arrived. Jail records obtained by AP showed it took 35 hours to conduct his initial medical screening, despite ICE’s stated 12 hour standard.
Rayo told a nurse he was anxious and wanted mental health treatment. A mental health appointment was scheduled, then canceled twice. One cancellation cited staffing, and another cited his coronavirus infection. AP reported that the delay violated an ICE standard requiring mental health treatment within a week of referral.
As Rayo became sicker, staff moved him into an isolation cell with a surveillance camera. He was not allowed to call his mother. On his fourth day in isolation, he passed notes under the door asking guards to let him speak with her.
In one note reviewed by AP, he wrote in Spanish, “I know you have family, and you know that they worry about us. God bless you.”
Within an hour, guards found him unconscious. He was taken to a hospital, where his mother later learned he had died.
Editor’s Note: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
