Suicides in ICE detention rise as 911 logs reveal harrowing details of self-harm

Source: The Independent

Friday 22 May 2026 17:54 EDT


Suicides by migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are already at a record level this year, according to a new report that also revealed more than 1,000 incidents of self-harm in detention centers across the country.

The five suicides since January 1 followed four in 2025 and just two during all four years of the Biden administration, NBC News said in a report Thursday that cited ICE data. The recent rash of suicides is also the most in any calendar year during the past two decades, NBC said.

"If you see a spike, it indicates there is a much larger group of people suffering mental health challenges," Dr. Sanjay Basu, the lead author of a April research paper on deaths in ICE custody since 2004, told NBC.

In a statement to The Independent, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, denied any "spike in deaths" and said suicides in custody were "tragic and rare."

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-detention-suicide-self-harm-migrants-b2982170.html