"The conditions are chaotic, disorganized, and frankly, dangerous," states a physician-turned-congresswoman, highlighting a systemic crisis of inadequate medical care for immigrants in U.S. detention facilities, leading to preventable suffering and death.
This stark assessment underscores a growing concern regarding the health and well-being of individuals held in federal immigration detention centers. As the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies lead to record numbers of detentions, reports and lawsuits reveal a disturbing pattern of insufficient medical attention, delayed diagnoses, and outright neglect. From potential cancer screenings being deferred to outbreaks of infectious diseases, the situation in these facilities is raising alarms among medical professionals, civil liberties advocates, and lawmakers, prompting urgent calls for reform and greater accountability.
Fernando Viera Reyes, a 51-year-old man facing a potential prostate cancer diagnosis, found himself transferred to a remote desert detention center in the Mojave, California, under the Trump administration. His case, detailed in a November lawsuit against the federal government, exemplifies the dire medical neglect alleged within these facilities. Reyes repeatedly requested a biopsy for his suspected cancer, but months passed without the procedure, even as he experienced blood in his urine—a critical indicator that the disease could have spread.
"It could have gone from being very treatable to being metastatic," stated Kyle Virgien, an attorney with the ACLU’s National Prison Project, who is involved in the lawsuit. Virgien further elaborated on the systemic issues, noting, "There are vulnerable populations; it’s overcrowded. There’s not enough medical attention to handle the increase in sick people."
The surge in immigrant detentions, driven by President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiatives, has strained federal facilities, local jails, and private prisons to unprecedented levels. This overcrowding, coupled with alleged understaffing and inadequate resources, has created a public health crisis within these detention centers, putting the health of detainees at significant risk. A comprehensive review of over 200 pages of detainee complaints, independent investigative reports, academic publications, and recent congressional investigations paints a grim picture. These documents suggest that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is failing to adhere to established standards for initial medical screenings, routine care, and timely responses to physical complaints.
The mounting complaints about inadequate medical care are amplifying political backlash against Trump’s immigration policies. This criticism has intensified following tragic incidents, including the reported murder of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, which have been linked to broader immigration enforcement actions. Congressional Democrats have actively sought to impose limitations on federal immigration agents, proposing measures within a 2026 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These efforts have led to a legislative stalemate that threatens to paralyze the agency.
Despite repeated requests for comment, spokespersons for ICE, the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC), DHS, and the White House have remained silent on these allegations. The IHSC, responsible for evaluating detainee health for deportation, overseeing medical standards in contracted facilities, and reimbursing off-site medical care, claims to uphold rigorous standards. According to its website, the IHSC’s assistant director, Stewart Smith, asserts that the corps "maintains medical care standards at all ICE-owned and ICE-contracted facilities and ensures the provision of required medical care for detained aliens." Conversely, ICE’s website states that "many aliens may not have received recent or reliable medical treatment for existing conditions prior to entering ICE custody. For some individuals, this may be their first opportunity for access to comprehensive medical care."
Several Democratic lawmakers have publicly demanded autopsy reports for detainees who have died in custody, accusing ICE of denying immigrants access to necessary medical treatment. Representative Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.), a physician herself, shared her observations after visiting a detention center at Fort Snelling in her state. She reported a severe lack of medical standards and "actual medical care" on-site. "It sets off alarms from a medical and public health perspective," Morrison told KFF Health News. "There are no beds, no blankets, minimal food. It’s very cold. Everyone is in leg shackles. It’s chaotic, disorganized, and frankly, dangerous."
Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) echoed these concerns, denouncing the medical care provided to detainees during a press conference following a visit to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas. Her visit was prompted by media reports about Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy who allegedly developed a fever and was in poor health while detained there. Crockett stated, "The treatment these individuals are suffering right now is worse than those who are accused and sometimes even convicted of crimes. That is how severe it is."
The Dilley center was recently closed by DHS after two detainees contracted measles, a highly contagious disease that poses significant risks to children, who are particularly vulnerable to severe complications like brain inflammation. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) accused the administration of preventing access to Dilley in late January to conceal the measles outbreak. Measles cases have also been reported at an immigration detention center in Florence, Arizona.
Public concern over the handling of immigration by the Trump administration is growing. A recent poll conducted by the Siena University and The New York Times found that nearly 60% of voters disapprove of Trump’s immigration policies. The level of medical care provided to adult immigrants in detention varies, influenced by the specific facility. ICE detention standards apply to certain centers, including private prisons that house both inmates and detainees, while separate standards are required for facilities primarily holding adult immigrant detainees.
Despite these variations, fundamental standards are expected. Immigrants are entitled to medical, dental, and mental health evaluations upon arrival. They should have daily access to medical consultations for illness, 24-hour emergency care, and other essential services, including preventive care, examinations, diagnostics, and treatment. According to ICE’s national standards, revised last year, these regulations are intended "to ensure that detainees are treated humanely; that they are protected from harm; receive adequate medical and mental health care; and receive the rights and protections to which they are entitled."
However, reports from advocacy groups, congressional investigations led by Democrats, and state reports indicate that the agency’s non-compliance with its own standards is exposing immigrant detainees to medical emergencies, death, complications from untreated chronic conditions, and infectious diseases. The DHS has disputed some of these findings, including a report by Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) concerning pregnant women and children in detention. Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, stated in an August press release, "ICE detention centers have higher standards than most prisons in the U.S. that detain U.S. citizens. All detainees receive comprehensive medical care and adequate meals." McLaughlin later announced her departure from her position in February.
The growing number of detainees, coupled with diminished oversight from the Trump administration and delays in processing medical claims, has jeopardized the provision of adequate healthcare, according to advocates, legal professionals, and some physicians. "The challenges have been exacerbated because the pace of removals has not kept up with the arrests. That compounds the problem," explained Drishti Pillai, an associate director at KFF, which includes KFF Health News. "There are more public health problems when the facilities are overcrowded."
The number of immigrants in detention surged from approximately 40,000 in November 2023 under the Biden administration to a record 73,000 by mid-January, according to the American Immigration Council. Concurrently, the Trump administration has weakened oversight of conditions and healthcare services in detention centers. Staff reductions in the DHS’s Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman effectively shut down most of its operations, according to an analysis by KFF and the Economic Policy Institute. The ombudsman’s mission, as stated by the agency, is to "independently examine immigrant detention to promote safe and humane conditions." Currently, the DHS faces a partial government shutdown due to Democratic opposition to a funding bill that, as proposed by Republicans, would eliminate funding for the ombudsman entirely.
Significant delays in processing payments for external medical care for detainees to doctors and hospitals also pose a risk, according to both advocates and federal officials. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Financial Services Center had a long-standing contract with ICE to process claims for care outside detention facilities, such as cancer treatments or dialysis. Congressional Republicans criticized this arrangement, arguing it diverted resources from veterans. In October, the VA ceased processing detainee claims. ICE documents indicated that this termination "created an emergency" by jeopardizing the ability to reimburse providers and leaving the agency without a mechanism for essential services like tuberculosis testing, non-urgent medical transport, and medical equipment procurement.
According to partially redacted documents posted on Sam.gov, a federal contract data system, the situation was described as an "absolute emergency that ICE immediately obtain support for claims processing because the lack of this support will delay critical medical care… such as dialysis, prenatal care, oncology, chemotherapy, etc." A new claims processor, Acentra Health, has been contracted, but ICE’s website indicates that no claims will be processed until April 30. Advocates express uncertainty about whether detainees are receiving necessary external care and note that these delays are discouraging medical providers from offering services to immigrants. Pete Kasperowicz, a VA spokesperson, stated, "The DHS has signed a new contract to process these claims and is currently onboarding the provider. In the meantime, the VA is supporting this transition through May to ensure claims are processed appropriately."
ICE reports eight detainee deaths in custody so far in 2026, following 33 deaths in 2025 and 11 in 2024. However, some advocates and lawmakers question these figures, suggesting they exclude individuals who died during arrest or while under the care of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee contend that 53 individuals have died in ICE or CBP custody since Trump took office. They are demanding information from DHS, including autopsy reports, staffing requirements for medical professionals, and video recordings related to a detainee’s death in Texas. A letter signed by 13 lawmakers on January 22 stated, "We are outraged" by these deaths, concluding, "It is clear and tragic that ICE is unwilling or unable to provide basic care to detainees."
The Democrats highlighted the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban national who died on January 3 at a detention facility in Fort Bliss, Texas, after ICE reported a medical emergency. Campos had been detained for nearly six months. ICE stated in a January 9 release regarding his death that "at no time during detention is emergency care denied to a detained alien." The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Campos’s death was a homicide resulting from being restrained by law enforcement.
Meanwhile, other immigrants continue to await medical attention. Reyes, who needed a biopsy for suspected prostate cancer, eventually underwent the test, but by early February, he had not received the results. According to the lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California, he is "in constant, agonizing pain." On February 10, a federal judge ordered ICE and DHS to provide constitutionally adequate medical care to detainees and to conduct external oversight, including on-site inspections of the detention center.