Conditions at ICE detention centers are fueling a surge in suicide attempts

Since the start of Donald Trump’s anti-immigration campaign, detention centers have been overwhelmed by a massive influx of detainees. Overcrowding — with more than 60,000 people in custody nationwide — inadequate and, in many cases, unsanitary facilities, and reports of inhumane treatment have led to continuous complaints from both detainees and advocacy organizations. The desperation affecting many people in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody has been reflected in a rising number of suicide attempts.

In two cases, these attempts ended in death. Jesús Molina-Veya took his own life in June at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, and Chaofeng Ge died last month at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania. Both are among the dozen people who have died since January while in ICE custody.

The lack of adequate medical care — both physical and mental — difficulties accessing medication, as well as grief over family separation and the anxiety experienced by many detainees, are increasing suicidal thoughts among those deprived of liberty as part of Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign.

The New York Times obtained reports and recordings of emergency calls revealing suicide attempts. In April, at least two attempts occurred in Tacoma, Washington, at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, operated by the private company GEO Group, according to ICE incident reports shared with the University of Washington Human Rights Center. In one case, a 32-year-old Turkish man attempted to strangle himself; in another, a 30-year-old Indian man tried to cut his own throat. In March, a detainee jumped from a ledge at the facility where he was being held.

An investigation by Scripps News shows that dozens of detainees at the Moshannon Valley jail filed habeas corpus petitions in federal court. These requests for release describe cases such as a detainee held for 15 months without a bail hearing: “His unstable mental health has deteriorated… While in immigration custody, he has also been sexually assaulted twice and placed on suicide watch several times.”

Another petition states that jail authorities “discontinued the 15-minute wellness checks” for a detainee who “experienced several severe panic attacks, including one that led to his hospitalization after a suicide attempt.”

Detention, which can be traumatic for anyone, often worsens the condition of those with mental health issues. Many facilities lack professionals capable of addressing these cases, and detainees who express suicidal thoughts are frequently placed in solitary confinement, where isolation, lack of natural light, and unsanitary conditions tend to exacerbate their mental state. Prolonged time alone can lead to cognitive decline, difficulty sleeping, and thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

From December 2024 through the end of August, the number of people held in solitary cells for at least one day increased by 41%, according to an analysis by The Marshall Project and Univision Noticias. The number had also risen during the Biden administration. The peak occurred last August, with over 1,100 cases.

Conditions in solitary confinement are reportedly deplorable, based on the experiences of those who have endured them. Faviola Salinas Zaraté, a Mexican woman deported to her home country, said, “I cried a lot, and sometimes, from the depression, I urinated in my clothes.” Salinas, a mother of three U.S.-born children, spent two months alone in a solitary cell, sometimes sleeping on a metal surface, in the cold, and without a functioning toilet. She already suffered from postpartum depression when she was detained in February, just three months after the birth of her youngest child, she said, but the confinement worsened her condition.

Families detained with their children have also provided numerous accounts of inadequate facilities, including overly strong air conditioning, no blankets, and artificial lighting 24 hours a day, making rest nearly impossible. They report mistreatment by staff and lack of access to necessary medical care and medications.

Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff recently published an investigation into the abuse of pregnant women and children in detention centers. The report notes that some detainees who reported physical and sexual abuse were sent to solitary confinement as retaliation.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, called Ossoff’s accusations “false.” “ICE detention facilities have higher standards than most U.S. prisons that detain American citizens. All detainees are provided with comprehensive medical care, proper meals, and are given the opportunity to call their family members and attorneys,” she said.

The conditions in detention centers are difficult to verify because access is prohibited. Several members of Congress have attempted, unsuccessfully, to enter some facilities. Last Thursday, at least 11 state officials, including congresspeople and city council members, were arrested while attempting to enter a detention center in the federal building at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. In total, more than 70 people were detained while protesting the poor conditions for migrants, as shown in several videos that went viral on social media.

The day before, a federal judge ordered ICE officials to improve the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions for migrants in the center. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan cited the “unconstitutional and inhumane treatment” of detainees.

According to ICE guidelines, detainees must undergo medical and mental health examinations within the first 12 hours of detention and again after two weeks, and have access to emergency services. But according to advocacy organizations, these rules are not being followed.

One detainee who spoke to Scripps was a Nigerian migrant living in New Jersey with her two children and has been held for over a year and a half. Her lawyer says she experienced domestic violence and female genital mutilation. Agents reportedly stripped her in front of a camera, triggering a panic attack. She was placed under suicide watch and admitted to having suicidal thoughts. “I’ve never been locked up like this in my life. I’m just a single mother that came to work to find a daily bread for my two kids,” she said.

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