Since January 2004, there have been 71 deaths in immigration custody. No government body is responsible for accounting for these deaths.
Every day, the U.S. government detains more than 30,000 immigrants in county jails, federal detention centers, or privately run prisons. These immigrants are not detained by the government because of criminal actions; many have no criminal history at all. They are held in custody by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security while waiting for the resolutions of their immigration proceedings.
Since no government agency is charged with being accountable for detainee deaths, finding out the details of a death in custody can be an arduous task, one that is left to family members, lawyers, and immigrant rights' advocates.
On May 5, 2008, The New York Times published a powerful front page article on the deaths of adult immigrant detainees in federal immigration custody. It described the failure of the federal government to treat detained immigrants humanely, to provide adequate health care on a daily basis, and to respond to emergencies. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, the newspaper obtained a list from the Department of Homeland Security of 66 people who have died in immigrant detention since 2004. By May 7, the newspaper reported the number of deaths had increased to 71. The article featured Boubacar Bah, a 52-year-old tailor from Guinea, who died after suffering a skull fracture and multiple brain hemorrhages. Equally alarming are the cases of a detained immigrant, Francisco Castaneda, who died of cancer at age 36 after immigration authorities ignored his pleas for medical care and refused to conduct biopsies on lesions, and Victoria Arellano, who died shackled to a hospital bed after spending weeks in deteriorating health because her AIDS treatment had lapsed.
The article was followed-up with an Editorial, pushing for reform of the U.S. immigration detention system. Both the article and the editorial illustrate the lack of transparency and accountability in the U.S. immigration detention system and the urgent need for reform.
- Read The New York Times article: Few Details on Immigrants Who Died in Custody
- Read The New York Times editorial: Death by Detention.
- Through a Freedom of Information Act request, the New York Times was able to get the most thorough list to date of the 66 individuals who have died in immigration custody. Download the list here.
- For more resources, visit the New York Times website
On May 1, 2008, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chair of the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation to ensure timely and more comprehensive medical and mental health care for non-citizens held in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security. The Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008, H.R.5950, addresses persistent problems in the provision of health care to detainees - including failure to screen for tuberculosis and other public health threats, denial of tests and treatment for cancer, and refusal to issue prescribed medications - that have been documented by detainees and legal aid providers like the National Immigrant Justice Center. Similar concerns were reported by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, which issued a highly critical report in early 2007.
Learn more about our Immigration Detention project and Get Involved!
The National Immigrant Justice Center contributed to this section.
