Curran: ICE deaths betray American values

Conditions in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's rapidly expanding detention center network are appalling and must be corrected before we become the kind of tyranny America was founded to overthrow. A recent report from Physicians for Human Rights suggests that, in the worst tradition of authoritarian states, ICE is depriving detainees of medical care and showing callous disregard for human life. The report documents an increase in death rates in ICE custody during the second Trump administration. In the first 12 months of this administration, 39 detainees died in custody, the most of any 12-month period since ICE was formed in 2003. Some of these people were peaceful, longtime residents picked up during roundups. Now they are dead, and their families, in some cases, have not received an explanation. It's not just the raw number of deaths that's disturbing. The rate of deaths in ICE custody has also increased, according to the report. As of January 2026, the rate of death on a monthly basis in the second Trump administration was about 8.4 per 10,000. That's almost twice the rate of the previous peak, at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, and the largest single-year increase on record. 'Although the detained population has grown in recent months, the number of deaths has increased at a disproportionately higher rate, indicating that increased detention alone does not account for the rise in mortality,' the report said. Physicians for Human Rights, which comprises doctors, public health researchers, lawyers and administrators, won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its work on land mines. The group also helped expose torture at CIA black sites during the war on terror after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Now, the group is blowing the whistle on ICE's disregard for international law and its own rules, and calling for the agency to address the rising death rates. A review of autopsy reports and other available information on the 39 deceased individuals suggests that ICE did not provide adequate medical care in most cases. ICE also flouted its own policies by failing to investigate the deaths and provide families a timely and thorough explanation, according to the report. Family and detainee interviews were conducted by the group's partners at another nonprofit, Human Rights Watch. Some of the deaths might have been prevented, the report found. Those include a detainee who complained of breathing difficulties but received no medical care until he was found unresponsive; people whose high blood pressure was not monitored; individuals with obvious sepsis risk factors who did not have blood cultures drawn despite developing high fevers; and delays in CPR for unresponsive individuals. Specific cases are chilling: Maksym Chernyak, a 44-year-old man who escaped the war in Ukraine died after suffering a stroke in a Miami facility in early 2025. 'Delays in getting [Chernyak] to higher level medical care almost certainly contributed to his death,' according to the report. In September 2025, Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican citizen, died in a California detention center from what doctors at the nonprofit said was likely septic shock. 'His repeated attempts to obtain appropriate medical help for an infected abscess were recurrently mishandled,' according to the report. Certain ICE facilities have become notorious for deaths and allegations of medical neglect. Three detainees housed in Delaney Hall in New Jersey have died since December. Detainees at the facility, reopened by the Trump administration in 2025, have told the press about unsanitary conditions and insufficient medical care. The American Civil Liberties Union is backing a lawsuit filed by former detainees at Camp East Montana near El Paso, the largest detention center by capacity, alleging systematic use of excessive force and withholding of medical care. The Physicians for Human Rights researchers found the investigations into these deaths were often delayed and cursory. I tried to contact ICE about these concerns but did not receive a response. And when administration does release information, it is riddled with political dog whistles and slanted and often inaccurate language. Detainees aren't 'accused' or 'suspected' or 'detained.' They are 'illegal aliens.' Is this the America that has called out China and Russia for abusing marginal populations and dissidents in their prisons? Is this the America that went to fight tyrannies in Europe in 1941? Is this the America that was birthed in revolt against the authoritarian policies of Britain? Yes, the border was overwhelmed during the previous Biden administration. And yes, undocumented crossings have slowed under President Donald Trump. But at what cost? If we cannot secure the border without upholding the rights of the accused, then what kind of nation do our borders protect?