An investigation by the Associated Press has uncovered an “alarming” and unprecedented spike in suicides among detainees held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, at least 10 men have taken their own lives while in federal custody, a rate that significantly outpaces the growth of the overall detainee population.
Data reviewed from autopsy reports, coroner’s rulings, and police records indicate that seven of these deaths have occurred since October alone.
This figure represents the highest number of suicides recorded in any fiscal year in the agency’s history, a stark departure from previous years where ICE typically recorded one or no such deaths annually.
A profound public health failure
Public health experts and jail oversight specialists describe the surge as a terrifying indication of systemic failure.
Dr Sanjay Basu, an epidemiologist at the University of California-San Francisco, noted that “something is going profoundly wrong” from a mental health perspective, describing the rise as a sudden and alarming increase.
The crisis comes as the Trump administration pursues an aggressive deportation strategy, which has seen the detainee population swell by 50 per cent to approximately 60,000 people.
While the administration has often characterised those facing deportation as the “worst of the worst,” the investigation found that seven of the 10 men who died by suicide had no record of violent crimes in the United States.
Nine of the deceased were Hispanic men, and one was a Chinese citizen, with an average age of 32.
The tragic case of Brayan Rayo Garzon
The current spike began in April 2025 with the death of 26-year-old Brayan Rayo Garzon.
A veteran of the Colombian military and a housepainter living in St. Louis, Rayo was taken into ICE custody following a non-violent arrest involving a stolen credit card.
He was held at the Phelps County Jail in Missouri, a facility that had only recently begun partnering with ICE to generate revenue for the local department.
Records show that Rayo’s mental health deteriorated rapidly during his detention. He was placed in a cinderblock isolation cell for four days after testing positive for COVID-19.
While suffering from fevers, chills, and nausea, his requests for psychiatric help were repeatedly cancelled due to staffing shortages and his infection.
Crucially, staff forbade him from making his nightly blessing calls to his mother – a ritual he relied on for emotional strength.
In his final hours, Rayo passed handwritten notes in Spanish under his cell door, pleading for a phone call. “I feel in my heart that she’s very worried about me,” he wrote.
Within an hour of an English-speaking guard using a phone to translate these pleas, Rayo was found unconscious with a sheet around his neck.
Widespread violations of safety standards
The investigation revealed that facilities across the ICE network, including those managed by private contractors like CoreCivic and the GEO Group, have frequently violated the agency’s own safety and medical standards.
Experts argue that well-run facilities should have almost no suicides if staff properly identify risks and monitor detainees.
However, the AP found that staff often ignored clear signs of distress. In Pennsylvania, 34-year-old Chaofeng Ge, a Chinese citizen, was left unmonitored for five days in a GEO Group facility despite a previous suicide attempt.
Because no staff members spoke Mandarin, he was unable to communicate his distress and was eventually found dead in a shower stall.
Similarly, 34-year-old Leo Cruz Silva died in a Missouri jail after suffering a three-day mental health crisis.
Despite reporting hallucinations and screaming for help, he was not provided with immediate psychiatric treatment; a nurse had planned to address his needs the following week.
Negligence in private and temporary facilities
Conditions at Camp East Montana in El Paso, once the largest ICE detention facility, were particularly harrowing.
In February, inspectors documented 49 violations, including unsecured tools that could be used for self-harm and a failure to perform required safety checks.
One death at the camp was ruled a homicide after guards restrained Geraldo Lunas Campos following a suicide attempt.
Another detainee, 36-year-old Victor Diaz, took his own life in a medical holding room after being placed in isolation due to harassment by other detainees.
Official denials amid rising outcry
In response to the findings, Lauren Bies, acting assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, maintained that suicides remain “extremely rare” and that detainees receive “comprehensive healthcare”.
Representatives for CoreCivic and the GEO Group also stated they take the passing of individuals seriously and comply with federal requirements.
Nonetheless, legal advocates like David Rankin, who represents the Ge family, argue that the system is designed to be as “cruel and inhuman” as possible.
Experts warn that the combination of language barriers, fear of deportation, and the isolation of detention creates a lethal environment for vulnerable individuals.
For families like the Garzons, the loss is a permanent reminder of a system that failed to provide basic humanity.
