The Associated Press investigation described what it called an “alarming” increase in suicide deaths of people held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reporting that at least 10 detainees died by suicide since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025. The report said that pace has surpassed what ICE typically recorded, which it described as usually one or no suicides per year. AP also reported that there have been seven such deaths since October, making that period the most in a fiscal year.
AP said it reviewed ICE data, autopsy reports, coroners’ rulings and police records as part of the investigation. It reported that nine of the 10 detainees who died by suicide were Hispanic men, with one described as a Chinese citizen, and that their average age was 32. AP said the people who took their own lives were in ICE custody for less than a month in most cases, and sometimes only a matter of days.
The investigation also described the criminal and detention contexts of some of those deaths. AP reported that, among those who died by suicide, seven had no record of violent crime. It also included the cases of a 19-year-old laborer from Mexico, a 27-year-old housepainter from Colombia and a 36-year-old restaurant worker from Nicaragua.
AP reported that the suicides occurred across ICE’s detention network. The investigation said five of the deaths happened in centers run by CoreCivic and the GEO Group, while a sixth death occurred at a camp operated by an inexperienced contractor that ICE has since replaced. AP reported that three deaths occurred in jails run by sheriffs and one death occurred at a federal prison.
In response to the deaths, AP included statements from contract operators and the department’s leadership. CoreCivic spokesperson Brian Todd said, “We are deeply saddened by and take very seriously the passing of any individual in our care.” AP reported that GEO Group spokesperson Christopher Ferreira said the company trains staff on suicide prevention and seeks “to maintain a safe and secure environment in compliance with the standards and requirements set by the federal government.” Officials who run the county jails, AP said, declined to comment.
The Associated Press reported that its examination found detention facilities repeatedly fell short of ICE standards. AP said the failures it identified included staff ignoring signs of distress, delaying mental health treatment and failing to monitor detainees who were already deemed at risk. AP also reported that, in some cases, distressed detainees were confined in isolation, and that experts said isolation can exacerbate humiliation and helplessness. AP further said some facilities allowed detainees access to materials that could be used for self-harm.
AP reported that Department of Homeland Security acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said suicide deaths in ICE custody remain “extremely rare.” Bis, AP said, told reporters that detention staff follow protocols intended to protect detainees who show signs of self-harming, and that ICE requires annual suicide prevention training. Bis also said detainees receive comprehensive healthcare, including mental health services.
Experts cited by AP said the number of suicides is alarming and indicative of broader failures in oversight. Dr. Sanjay Basu, a University of California-San Francisco epidemiologist who co-wrote a study on increases in mortality and suicide rates among ICE detainees, told AP: “Something is going profoundly wrong from any kind of public health or mental health perspective.” Basu added that the increase is “one of those alarming, sudden increases.” Dr. Homer Venters, a former chief medical officer of New York City jails and an expert on ICE detainee deaths, said the rise is “terrifying,” and that it reflects failures in how the system operates, especially in how people are assessed at the start of detention.
AP also included a case study described as illustrating problems with intake screening and care. The investigation said that last year, 27-year-old Brayan Rayo Garzon died by suicide after being detained at the Phelps County Jail in Rolla, Missouri. AP reported that Garzon had been picked up by police in St. Louis on a misdemeanor fraud charge and turned over to ICE, and that ICE sent him to the jail after it had recently started taking ICE detainees. AP said the jail did not perform an intake screening for 35 hours, and that, during that period, Garzon began exhibiting labored breathing, was anxious, and requested mental health treatment that AP said he did not receive.
The Associated Press reported that the jail later scheduled mental health appointments for Garzon twice, but that both were canceled, first due to staff concerns and then because he had COVID-19. AP reported that Garzon was put into medical isolation, meaning he could not have his nightly phone call with his mother. AP said that on the fourth day he passed notes in Spanish to English-speaking guards begging to speak with her, and that within an hour he was found unresponsive and died the next day; AP said an autopsy determined he took his own life.
AP also said the suicides it described have followed an increase in the detained population during Trump’s second term, reporting a spike to 50% or more in the range of 60,000 people. It reported that the suicide deaths account for nearly 20% of the 51 people it said have died in ICE custody since January 2025. The investigation also said three facilities involved in the suicides had struggled to meet ICE’s requirement that detainees receive medical and mental health screenings within 12 hours of arrival.
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.