Reps. Chu, Min Lead 43 Representatives in Letter Demanding Answers on the Trump Administration’s Systemic Pattern of Deaths in ICE Detainment Facilities

WASHINGTON D.C. – Following the deaths of Ismael Ayala-Uribe and Gabriel Garcia-Aviles who were both held in ICE custody at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, Representatives Judy Chu (CA-28) and Dave Min (CA-47) lead 43 number of their colleagues in a letter to DHS Sec. Kristi Noem and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Todd Lyons, regarding the record-high number of deaths in ICE custody and demanding answers on ICE’s negligence in adhering to basic medical standards. 

“ICE has publicly reported 25 detainee deaths since January 23, 2025, and has issued 15 Detainee Death Reports in accordance with congressional reporting requirements. To put that figure into perspective, ICE has recorded almost 64 percent as many in-custody deaths in just the first nine months of President Trump’s second term as occurred during his entire first term, when 36 detainees died in custody. Further, the number of deaths this year exceeds every year on record since reporting began in 2018, including Fiscal Year 2020, when deaths spiked in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic” wrote the representatives.

They continued, “ICE appears to have repeatedly failed to comply with internal standards, and these failures have contributed to deaths in custody. For example, over the last decade, ICE has delayed or provided substandard medical care, neglected to provide proper medication, and falsified medical records. ICE has also failed to notify next of kin following the death of a detainee “timely, accurately, appropriately, and with sufficient detail” despite being required to by ICE Directive 11003.6 and PBNDS. ICE’s failure to adhere to basic standards of care for individuals in its custody is inexcusable.”

“These are not just numbers on a website, but real people—with families, jobs, and hopes and dreams—each of whom died in ICE custody. [...] These repeated policy violations and deaths reflect a broader pattern, demonstrating that ICE is providing insufficient medical care to the people this Administration has detained.”

For more than a decade, Rep. Chu has repeatedly visited and called for the closure of the Adelanto ICE facility in San Bernardino County because of its long, alarming record of abuse, medical neglect, and human rights violations that have led to preventable deaths. 

54 organizations endorsed this letter: Alianza Americas; America's Voice; American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); Aquí: The Accountability Movement; CASA; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA); Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); Coalition on Human Needs; Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim; Cosmovisiones Ancestrales; Detention Watch Network; EqualHealth; Florida Immigrant Coalition; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Haitian Bridge Alliance; Hispanic National Bar Association; Hispanics in Philanthropy; Human Rights First; Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef); Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC); Immigration Law & Justice Network; Innovation Law Lab; International Refugee Assistance Project; Justice in Motion; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA); Latino Community Foundation; Latino Victory Project; LatinoJustice PRLDEF; League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); Long Beach Immigration Forum; Miami Valley Immigration Coalition; Mi Familia Vota; MoveOn Civic Action; Mutual Aid Immigration Network; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Immigration Law Center; National Partnership for New Americans; Oasis Legal Services; Orange County Rapid Response Network; Refugee Council USA; RENACEUSA; Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights; Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN); Tahirih Justice Center; Texas Civil Rights Project; The Workers Circle; Together & Free; United We Dream Network; UnidosUS; VECINA; Voto Latino; Witness at the Border.

43 additional members of Congress supported this letter: Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Wesley Bell (MO-01), Donald Beyer (VA-08), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Greg Casar  (TX-35), Gil Cisneros (CA-31), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Danny Davis (IL-07), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Mike Levin (CA-49), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Grace Meng (NY-06), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Elanor Norton (DC-00), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Mark Takano (CA-39), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Juan Vargas (CA-52), James Walkinshaw (VA-11), and Maxine Waters (CA-43). 

The full letter is available here. 

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