Original Date Announced

In the first 100 days since the inauguration of President Trump, seven migrants have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. For example, as reported by El Pais, Marie Blaise, a 44 year old Haitian woman died after she reported chest pain at a Florida detention center. An ACLU investigation found that most ICE custody deaths in recent years could have been prevented with proper treatment. Lawmakers and advocates are raising concerns about the medical care migrants receive while detained by ICE and the conditions inside detention centers, especially with detention numbers growing.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1747]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.08 ICE - Mexican national in ICE custody passes away

Abelardo Avelleneda-Delgado, a 68-year-old citizen of Mexico in ICE custody, was pronounced deceased by medical professionals at the Webster County Coroner on May 5, 2025. His cause of death is still under investigation.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.12 FOIA Complaint - Project on Government Oversight v. ICE

The Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit investigative organization, filed a complaint to compel ICE to comply with three FOIA requests for all information, documentation, and correspondence about the deaths of three people who died in ICE custody in 2025. Project on Government Oversight, Inc. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, No. 1:25-cv-01429 (D.D.C.).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.10.20 Reported: DHS hiring over 40 health care practitioners for immigration detention centers - Politico

Politico reports that DHS is hiring over 40 "doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, pharmacists and health administrators" to increase the number of healthcare providers working in immigration-detention centers, which "follows the revelation that nearly as many immigrants have died in custody so far this year [as] over the course of the Biden administration." According to government reports, recent deaths in immigration detention centers have been due to "infections, Covid-19, injuries, uncontrolled diabetes and suicide."

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.12.20 Reported: 911 calls from migrant detention center highlight dire conditions - El Paso Times

El Paso Times reports that immigrants detained at Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas—the nation's largest ICE facility—regularly face serious medical and mental health emergencies, according to 911 logs. The logs show about 90 calls in 15 weeks for issues such as chest pain, seizures, suicide attempts, and breathing problems among detainees aged 19 to 89. U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar and advocates say DHS and ICE failed to disclose suicide attempts and the extent of medical crises during oversight visits, raising concerns about inhumane conditions. DHS denied allegations of abuse. One detainee died weeks after he suffered a medical emergency at the facility, with ICE citing "natural liver and kidney failure," despite his family saying he was healthy before detention.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.01.15 Reported: Medical examiner likely to classify death of ICE detainee as homicide, recorded call says - Washington Post

The Washington Post reports on the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss on January 3, 2026. The El Paso County medical examiner said his death may be a homicide; its preliminary cause was asphyxia from neck and chest compression. A fellow detainee stated that he saw guards choking Lunas Campos and heard him repeatedly saying he could not breathe. DHS asserts Lunas Campos died after attempting to take his own life.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.01.21 Reported: Autopsy report classifies ICE detainee’s death as a homicide - Washington Post

The Washington Post reports that the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner released an autopsy report officially deeming the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas a homicide. The report lists the cause of death as "asphyxia due to neck and torso compression." In response, DHS again asserted that Mr. Lunas Campos died after attempting to take his own life.=

The same day the report was released, Judge David Briones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas temporarily restrained the government from deporting two of Mr. Lunas Campos' fellow detainees, who witnessed the interaction with detention camp guards that resulted in Mr. Lunas Campos' homicide, so that the court may obtain their testimony. In the Matter of Jasmarie Lunas Pagan, No. 3:26-cv-00104-DB (W.D. Tex.).