Federal spending passed by Congress earlier this year included more than $76 billion through 2029 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), about $16 billion a year, compared to its $8 billion budget for fiscal year 2024. Now ICE has a larger budget than at least 23 of the world’s top 40 military spenders. The funding goes to increasing detention capacity and hiring 10,000 more ICE officers.
Conditions in Detention
Average daily populations at ICE detention facilities have reached a record point, with more than 60,000 people detained across the country– approximately 70% of those detained have no criminal record. Many facilities are operating over capacity limits, leading to inhumane, overcrowded conditions. Since Trump took office, at least 27 people have died in ICE custody, making it the deadliest year for detainees since 2004 – even surpassing COVID years. (Only 15 of these deaths are reported on ICE’s website, while the others can be found in their news releases. Congress requires ICE to report deaths in custody within 90 days. The last death listed on the report at the time of publishing is from September 22.)
Detainees have reported medical neglect, rotten food, or a lack of food. A report by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff uncovered reports of medical neglect and poor conditions in detention centers nationwide. According to the report, detainees are being denied medical care for extended periods. People with asthma are being denied inhalers, diabetics are being denied glucose monitoring or insulin, reports of chest pain are ignored. One man suffered stroke-like symptoms, including partial paralysis. He was hospitalized for days and when he was returned to the detention center, officers accused him of faking his affliction and denied his access to the walker the doctor had prescribed for him. Food servings are reportedly too small, and the food itself has been linked to illness in detention centers. DHS has insisted that these claims are false, but they are consistent with complaints nationwide, and aligned with a history of medical neglect in ICE facilities.
Reduced Oversight
Trump moved in March to eliminate internal watchdogs at ICE’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversee immigration enforcement efforts, a decision which was reversed in May after a court challenge by civil rights groups. However, staffing was reduced to skeleton crew levels with around 20 employees in the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties office, which previously employed around 140 people to handle complaints from across the country.
Raids
ICE raids are taking place across the nation as masked agents push to meet their daily arrest quota of 3,000 immigrants. LA County voted on October 14 to declare a state of emergency to provide aid to residents who have suffered financial consequences from immigration raids due to the arrest of family members or fear of arrest if they leave their homes.
Some raids have led to the death of immigrants. A Honduran man in Virginia was fleeing ICE agents when he was struck by a car on the highway and killed. Others have been killed while attempting to evade ICE in Chicago and Los Angeles. Many raids are producing traumatizing experiences for U.S. citizens, including children, as ICE descends on cities like Chicago and Charlotte, NC for coordinated militarized operations.
Reports indicate that of the more than 600 people detained in Chicago during ICE’s Midway Blitz, only 16 had criminal records. There are also reports of at least 170 U.S. citizens, including veterans, being swept up in raids and detained by ICE temporarily.
Recruit Screening
Some ICE recruits have started training before their drug tests or background checks have come back. One man was dismissed from training because he had previously been charged with robbery and battery, a charge which would have typically prevented his admission into the training academy. Other recruits were dismissed after admitting they never submitted for drug testing or fingerprinting, raising concerns among Department of Homeland Security officials that some recruits could be slipping through the cracks by keeping quiet.
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