A Crisis of Despair: Alarming Suicide Risks Among Detainees in ICE Facilities

Daniel Cortes De La Valle had spent over seven months in immigration detention, enduring filthy cells, taunts from guards about his weight, and a lack of necessary epilepsy medication. In July 2023, the despair became too much, and he attempted to take his own life. “I can’t anymore,” Mr. Cortes De La Valle, now 35, recalls thinking. “I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s like a horror movie.”

Following his suicide attempt, officers at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, La., placed Mr. Cortes De La Valle on suicide watch. This meant solitary confinement, where he battled biting ants, black mold on the walls, and feces in his cell, according to a complaint he later filed. The constant 24-hour lighting exacerbated his seizure condition.

In November 2023, he chose voluntary deportation back to Colombia. His complaint against ICE officials states he attempted suicide four times during his year at the Jena facility, including twice in July alone. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security found that both ICE and its contractor had discriminated against him.

Since January, the Trump administration has intensified its campaign to deport tens of thousands of immigrants. By August, over 60,000 individuals were in detention, many held in overcrowded facilities. Lawyers report that detainees often sleep on bare floors, receive rotten food, and are denied essential medications. From his new home in Colombia, Mr. Cortes De La Valle shares a message for those still detained: “Don’t give in to the dark place.”

However, many detainees are grappling with suicidal thoughts, and some have tragically died by suicide. Since January 1, at least 12 immigrants have died in ICE custody, including Jesus Molina-Veya in June at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, and Chaofeng Ge last month at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.

This issue is not new. During the Biden administration, 26 detainees died in ICE custody, with at least four reported or suspected suicides.

In recent years, and particularly in recent months, immigration lawyers and advocacy groups have expressed growing alarm over persistent reports of suicide attempts and expressions of suicidal ideation in detention facilities. Some of these incidents are documented in internal ICE reports, audio recordings, or 9-1-1 call logs obtained by watchdog groups and shared with The Times.

Many detention centers are fundamentally unprepared to provide adequate care for individuals experiencing mental health crises. Inspection reports from ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight reveal over 150 failures in self-harm and suicide prevention protocols between 2020 and recent months. This includes facilities that failed to consistently monitor detainees placed on suicide watch.

Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for public affairs, described suicides in D.H.S. custody as “tragic and rare.” She asserted that “When there are signs of a detainee being at risk for suicide, staff abides by strict prevention and intervention protocol to ensure the detainee’s health and well-being is protected.”

Despite these claims, watchdog groups argue that the reported suicide attempts are likely a severe undercount. Immigration lawyers are deeply concerned about clients in distress within facilities that fail to provide proper mental health care.

Heather Hogan, formerly with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and now a policy and practice counsel at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, stated, “I don’t think D.H.S. had or certainly now has good protocols for dealing with people when they express that they’re contemplating suicide.” She added, “I am frankly terrified for detainees right now, particularly for people with any mental health condition.”

‘People Need to Know What’s Happening’

After more than two months in a Michigan detention facility, Jesus, a 20-year-old Venezuelan citizen (who requested to be identified by his middle name for safety), frequently awakens consumed by despair. He was living in Detroit, working at McDonald’s, when ICE agents stopped him in June while he was driving home. Now, he faces a complete lack of privacy when showering and using the toilet, and has endured taunts from other detainees because he is gay.

“I’ve had moments where I’ve been inconsolably crying,” he shared during a phone call from the facility. “I try not to think too much, so I don’t get desperate.”

Detainees who vocalize suicidal thoughts are often placed in solitary confinement. This isolation, combined with dark and unsanitary conditions, typically worsens their mental state, as confirmed by immigration lawyers and psychiatrists. Moreover, frequent and abrupt transfers between facilities disrupt consistent psychiatric care and access to vital medications.

Dr. Craig Haney, a psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who has extensively studied the impacts of confinement, explained, “What we know about solitary confinement is that it makes suicide more likely in any jail, prison or detention center.” He stressed the necessity of a “therapeutic environment” with access to mental health support, especially counseling.

Dr. Haney highlighted that many detainee suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts stem from “their circumstances, a reaction to an otherwise very despairing situation.” This perspective was echoed by over two dozen other experts interviewed. “People are frustrated and afraid,” he added. “They need mental health attention.”

Ms. McLaughlin reiterated, “ICE requires annual suicide prevention training, enforces 15-minute checks on suicide watch, and ensures that only clinicians — not custody staff — can remove someone from suicide watch.”

ICE’s health care standards mandate that detainees receive medical and mental health screenings within 12 hours of arrival, comprehensive assessments within two weeks, and continuous access to emergency care.

However, immigration lawyers and current detainees consistently report that these standards are rarely met. Many detainees do not receive private mental health or medical assessments, nor are interpreters always provided. Follow-up counseling is often absent. These systemic failures were documented long before this year and have been exacerbated by the rapid expansion of the detention system, according to interviews with immigration lawyers, including Andrew Free, who now meticulously tracks deaths in detention.

Laura St. John, legal director of the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, stated, “I worked in detention centers in Arizona for nearly 15 years and I’m not aware of a single client who received what I would call counseling on mental health.”

Immigration lawyers nationwide report an increasing number of clients developing suicidal thoughts after being detained. “People are losing hope,” said Laura Lunn, director of litigation and advocacy at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.

Sarah Decker, a staff attorney at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, represents a transgender woman from Colombia who experienced suicidal thoughts while in detention. Initially held in a facility with a transgender unit where she had access to counseling, she was later transferred to an all-male jail in Wyoming and placed in solitary confinement, losing access to her vital support. (She has since been returned to the detention center this month.)

Another client of Ms. Lunn recently testified in federal court that, despite expressing suicidal thoughts, he had received no counseling or mental health treatment during his 20 months in ICE custody.

In April, at least two suicide attempts were recorded at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Wash., which is operated by the GEO Group, a private prison firm. These incidents, documented in ICE reports shared with the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, include a 32-year-old Turkish man attempting to strangle himself and a 30-year-old Indian man trying to cut himself. In March, a detainee jumped from a ledge at the facility, prompting an emergency 9-1-1 call, according to an audio recording obtained by the Center for Human Rights.

Christopher Ferreira, a spokesman for GEO Group, stated that their centers offer “around-the-clock access to medical care.” He added, “We train all staff on GEO’s suicide prevention and intervention program, which is clearly defined in our policies and procedures.”

However, mental health experts specializing in correctional facilities emphasize that the frequency of suicide attempts demands a closer examination of the medical and mental health services provided in these detention centers. Dr. Haney, with decades of experience studying mental health in jails and prisons, expressed particular concern for those in detention centers, given the abrupt and distressing nature of their confinement.

“A completed suicide is an important reflection of the level of despair, but suicide attempts are as well,” Dr. Haney commented. “Only some kind of meaningful mental health contact on an ongoing basis will address the issue.”

Tammy Owen, 45, a Florida resident with her 5-year-old daughter and 8-month-old, understands the gravity of this issue firsthand. Her British husband, Ben Owen, died by suicide in a Florida detention center in 2020. Ms. Owen believes the harsh conditions of his detention—being abruptly separated from his family and confined to a windowless, moldy room—significantly contributed to his mental distress.

“People need to know what’s happening,” Ms. Owen urged. “My husband had nothing to die for. He was scared.”

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call or text 988 to connect with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Additional resources are available at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources. For those coping with loss, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers grief support.

Miguel Salazar contributed reporting.