Immigration and Customs Enforcement was discovered to have unlawfully failed to disclose the deaths of at least eight migrants in detention, a bombshell report from Zeteo revealed Tuesday.
Under existing law, ICE is required to notify Congress of any in-custody deaths within 90 days, but according to a deep dive by Zeteo into ICE disclosures, the agency had failed to do that.
Among the migrants whose deaths had not been disclosed are 34-year-old Leo Cruz-Silva, who died in a Missouri detention facility three days after being arrested, and an unidentified Honduran man who was “struck by a law enforcement vehicle.”
“I am not surprised that ICE, in addition to lying about its murders and leading smear campaigns against its victims, is also under-reporting deaths in its custody,” said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat in the influential House Oversight Committee, speaking with Zeteo.
“The problem is even bigger than [Homeland Security Department] cover-ups during [President Donald] Trump’s second term. During its existence, DHS has repeatedly trampled on the Constitution and our civil liberties while failing to protect people in its custody. I urge the Senate to vote against funds for [Border Patrol] and ICE. We must stop their violent actions against our communities.”
Conditions for migrants in ICE detention have been described as “inhumane,” with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) having recently been left “horrified” after touring a California ICE detention center, where he witnessed what he described as a blatant “violation of human rights.”