Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director David Venturella has issued a memo ordering the agency to stop reporting and investigating deaths of detainees that occur within 30 days of their release, rescinding a 2021 policy implemented under the Biden administration.
The memo, first reported by the Washington Post, eliminates the requirement that ICE report post-release deaths to Congress and investigate their circumstances. The 2021 policy was enacted to ensure that ICE could not avoid accountability for deaths by releasing severely ill people from custody. Detainees with brain damage or suffering from infection, for instance, have died shortly after ICE released them.
The change comes as the agency faces scrutiny over the quality of healthcare offered to detainees. Eighteen people have died in ICE custody during the first five months of 2026, and the agency has recorded a significant number of suicides, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
MSI previously reported that an AP investigation found ICE detainee suicides had reached a historic rate since January 2025.
The 2021 order was enacted after a man who contracted the coronavirus after suffering a stroke while detained for two years at the Adelanto detention center in California died three days after ICE released him.
Deborah Fleischaker, acting chief of staff at the time, said the policy was “changed to make clear that ICE should not release people simply to avoid deaths in custody.”
In the latest memo, Venturella wrote: “ICE is returning to the standard practice of reporting deaths that occur while an individual is in agency custody.”
A spokesperson told the Washington Post the new policy was “common sense” and that ICE remained “committed to transparency” regarding detainee deaths but should not be responsible for monitoring or reviews “when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody.”