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AIMS Public Health

2024, Volume 11, Issue 1: 223-235. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2024011
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Research article

Deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention: A Fiscal Year (FY) 2021–2023 update

  • 1.
    Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
  • 2.
    Department of Emergency Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 3.
    Department of Medicine, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 4.
    Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 5.
    Department of Emergency Medicine, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 6.
    Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
  • 7.
    American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 8.
    Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles General Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • Received: 06 December 2023 Revised: 01 February 2024 Accepted: 06 February 2024 Published: 27 February 2024

  • Background 

    This study describes the deaths of individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention between FY2021–2023, updating a report from FY2018–2020, which identified an increased death rate amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Methods 

    Data was extracted from death reports published online by ICE. Causes of deaths were recorded, and death rates per 100,000 admissions were calculated using population statistics reported by ICE. Reports of individuals released from ICE custody just prior to death were also identified and described.

    Results 

    There were 12 deaths reported from FY2021–2023, compared to 38 deaths from FY2018–2020. The death rate per 100,000 admissions in ICE detention was 3.251 in FY2021, 0.939 in FY2022, and 1.457 in FY2023, compared with a pandemic-era high of 10.833 in FY2020. Suicide caused 1 of 12 (8.3%) deaths in FY2021–2023 compared with 9 of 38 (23.7%) deaths in FY2018–2020. COVID-19 was contributory in 3 of 11 (25%) medical deaths in FY2021–2023, compared with 8 of 11 (72.7%) in the COVID-era months of FY2020 (p = 0.030). Overall, 4 of 11 (36.3%) medical deaths in FY2021–2023 resulted from cardiac arrest in detention facilities, compared with 6 of 29 (20.3%) in FY2018–2020. Three deaths of hospitalized individuals released from ICE custody with grave prognoses were identified.

    Conclusions 

    The death rate among individuals in ICE custody decreased in FY2021–2023, which may be explained in part by the release of vulnerable individuals following recent federal legal determinations (e.g., Fraihat v. ICE). Identification of medically complex individuals released from ICE custody just prior to death and not reported by ICE indicates that reported deaths underestimate total deaths associated with ICE detention. Attentive monitoring of mortality outcomes following release from ICE custody is warranted.

    Citation: Cara Buchanan, Sameer Ahmed, Joseph Nwadiuko, Annette M. Dekker, Amy Zeidan, Eva Bitrán, Thomas Urich, Briah Fischer, Elizabeth R.E. Burner, Parveen Parmar, Sophie Terp. Deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention: A Fiscal Year (FY) 2021–2023 update[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2024, 11(1): 223-235. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2024011

    Related Papers:

  • Background 

    This study describes the deaths of individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention between FY2021–2023, updating a report from FY2018–2020, which identified an increased death rate amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Methods 

    Data was extracted from death reports published online by ICE. Causes of deaths were recorded, and death rates per 100,000 admissions were calculated using population statistics reported by ICE. Reports of individuals released from ICE custody just prior to death were also identified and described.

    Results 

    There were 12 deaths reported from FY2021–2023, compared to 38 deaths from FY2018–2020. The death rate per 100,000 admissions in ICE detention was 3.251 in FY2021, 0.939 in FY2022, and 1.457 in FY2023, compared with a pandemic-era high of 10.833 in FY2020. Suicide caused 1 of 12 (8.3%) deaths in FY2021–2023 compared with 9 of 38 (23.7%) deaths in FY2018–2020. COVID-19 was contributory in 3 of 11 (25%) medical deaths in FY2021–2023, compared with 8 of 11 (72.7%) in the COVID-era months of FY2020 (p = 0.030). Overall, 4 of 11 (36.3%) medical deaths in FY2021–2023 resulted from cardiac arrest in detention facilities, compared with 6 of 29 (20.3%) in FY2018–2020. Three deaths of hospitalized individuals released from ICE custody with grave prognoses were identified.

    Conclusions 

    The death rate among individuals in ICE custody decreased in FY2021–2023, which may be explained in part by the release of vulnerable individuals following recent federal legal determinations (e.g., Fraihat v. ICE). Identification of medically complex individuals released from ICE custody just prior to death and not reported by ICE indicates that reported deaths underestimate total deaths associated with ICE detention. Attentive monitoring of mortality outcomes following release from ICE custody is warranted.


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    Acknowledgments


    CB had full access to all study data and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and accuracy of the data analysis. ST, CB, SA, ERB, and PP were responsible for concepts and design. ST, CB, SA, TU, ERB, and PP contributed to data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation. ST and CB were primarily responsible for manuscript drafting, and all authors including SA, ERB, PP, JN, AD, AZ, EB, and BF contributed to critical revision of the manuscript for content. ST was responsible for statistical analysis.

    Conflicts of interest


    Eva Bitrán is a Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Southern California and served as counsel on the Roman v. Wolf case, but does not believe that these affiliations represent a conflict of interest for this study. Previous published work included in this article was supported by the Haas Foundation. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

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    [19] American Civil Liberties UnionACLU Files Public Records Lawsuit Against ICE for Wrongfully Withholding Documents Regarding Access to Counsel in Immigration Detention (2022). Available from: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-files-public-records-lawsuit-against-ice-wrongfully-withholding-documents.
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    [23] United States District Court Central District of California Western DivisionSpecial Master's Report and Recommendation Following the Investigation into the Death of Martin Vargas Arellano (2021). Available from: https://www.aclusocal.org/sites/default/files/special_masters_report_and_recommendation_-_death_of_arellano.pdf.
    [24] Aquino A Family Sues Over ICE Detainee's COVID-19 Death. Law360 (2023). Available from: https://www.law360.com/articles/1584250.
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    [26] U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector GeneralMany Factors Hinder ICE's Ability to Maintain Adequate Medical Staffing at Detention Facilities (2021). Available from: https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2021-11/OIG-22-03-Oct21.pdf.
    [27] Katherine CG, Dana SD, Nadia B, et al. Complaint for violations of civil, constitutional, and disability rights of medically vulnerable individuals at Stewart Detention Center Southern Poverty Law Center (2021). Available from: https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/august_crcl_complaint.pdf.
    [28] U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement4.3 Medical Care | 2019 NDS for Non-Dedicated Facilities (2019). Available from: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention-standards/2019/4_3.pdf.
    [29] Dekker A, Farah J, Parmar P, et al. (2023) Emergency Medical Responses at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Centers in California. JAMA Network Open 6: e2345540. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.45540.
    [30] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Fraihat v. USICE, Case 20-55634United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2021). Available from: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/10/20/20-55634.pdf.
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  • © 2024 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
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