Immigration prison deaths soar as prisoners fail to receive adequate medical care

During Trump's second presidency, the number of migrants detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities has skyrocketed, from under 40,000 in January 2025 to over 73,000 today. ICE is legally required to provide detainees with necessary medical care, but often fails to do so, writes Popular information.

Although ICE has its own medical staff, it often relies on third-party providers. For example, ICE's Buffalo Federal Detention Facility holds over 500 detainees, but it has neither a physician nor a dentist on staff.

However, ICE has not paid any third-party providers for medical services for detainees since October 3, 2025. Last week, the agency posted a notice on its website that it will not process such claims until at least April 30, 2026. In the meantime, medical providers are instructed to "suspend all claims."

On the subject: Parents organized a vigil around Minneapolis schools to protect children from ICE agents.

Months of nonpayment of ICE bills has led some medical providers to deny services to those held in immigration detention, according to a source within one of the administrations, who wished to remain anonymous. In other cases, detainees are allegedly denied necessary medical care by ICE itself.

In lawsuits, numerous ICE detainees with serious illnesses claim they are unable to receive treatment. For example, Vier Reyes, held in an immigration detention facility in California, has developed prostate cancer based on his tests and symptoms. Despite often experiencing excruciating pain, Reyes is unable to undergo a biopsy. All his requests for a consultation with a urologist are ignored. Without a biopsy, Reyes has no official diagnosis and cannot begin chemotherapy or other treatments.

Reyes is one of seven ICE detainees who have filed a lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions at the facility.

How the ICE Healthcare Crisis Began

Since 2002, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has played a critical role in providing essential medical care to ICE detainees. When they needed medications or treatments that the agency's facility couldn't provide directly, the VA processed reimbursement claims from pharmacies and third-party medical providers. ICE paid the VA for this service.

However, since 2023, the VA's role in administering these claims has come under fire from Republican officials and right-wing media. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who introduced legislation to end the practice, claimed Biden is "robbing veterans to pay illegal immigrants."

After Trump's election, criticism of the VA's role subsided for a time until a small right-wing nonprofit, the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA), filed a lawsuit on September 30, 2025. CASA's complaint sought to compel the Trump administration to respond to a public records request for documents related to the VA's role in administering ICE medical claims.

According to government documents, the VA "abruptly and immediately terminated" its agreement with ICE on October 3. This left the agency "without a mechanism to provide prescribed medications" and unable to "pay for necessary medical care outside the facility." Among the services ICE cannot provide are dialysis, prenatal care, oncology, and chemotherapy. The documents were posted on SAM.gov on November 12 as part of ICE's efforts to hire a private contractor to process medical claims instead of the VA. (SAM.gov is the official website of the U.S. government's System for Award Management. – Approx. Ed.)

ICE described the situation as an emergency that needed to be addressed immediately.

More than three months have passed, but the situation hasn't changed and is expected to continue until the end of April, if not longer. The VA replacement process, according to an administration source, has proven to be extremely complex. Acentra, one of the companies that won the ICE contract to replace the VA, says it won't be ready to process claims until at least April 30. And yet, claims filed on that date can only be paid by May 30.

Meanwhile, the situation with ICE detainees has become so critical that the VA is now considering temporarily resuming claims processing, an administration source said. Statistics show that fewer people died in ICE custody during Biden's four years in office than during Trump's second year in office:

• 2019 - 9
• 2020 - 18
• 2021 - 5
• 2022 - 3
• 2023 - 7
• 2024 - 11
• 2025 - 31

Data shows that in 2024, the VA processed $246,42 million in claims for treatment of ICE detainees by third-party health care providers. In 2025, despite an 82,5% increase in the detainee population, the VA processed only $157,2 million in claims.

Assuming the typical ICE detainee's medical needs remain constant, the data indicates a gap of nearly $300 million between the required care from third-party providers and what ICE actually paid.

An investigation by Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) found "85 credible reports of medical neglect, including cases that allegedly resulted in life-threatening injuries and complications" among ICE detainees between January 20 and August 5, 2025. Incidents included "heart attacks after days of chest pain, complications from untreated diabetes, and denial of needed medications with subsequent complications."

Since October 3rd, medical care for ICE detainees has clearly deteriorated significantly. And it's unlikely to improve anytime soon.

Read also on ForumDaily:

What to do if you're targeted by ICE: A step-by-step guide

An ICE agent killed a Minneapolis woman: accounts of the incident differ widely.

US law enforcement is no longer pursuing child sex trafficking cases; they've switched to migrants.

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