{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-ossoff-press-trump-administration-over-deaths-in-ice-custody/", "Warnock, Ossoff Press Trump Administration Over Deaths in ICE Custody", "2025-09-23", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "GA", "Raphael G. Warnock", "W000790", "www.warnock.senate.gov", "warnock", "https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "Ten people died in ICE custody in the first half of 2025, the highest total for the same period since 2018\n\nNPR: Georgia senators demand answers on more than a dozen deaths in immigration detention\n\nSenators Reverend Warnock, Ossoff: \u201cWe write with serious alarm regarding the rise in the number of deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody nationwide. We are especially concerned by the deaths of two individuals in ICE custody in Georgia this year\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) are urging the Trump Administration to address deaths in ICE custody in Georgia.\n\nIn a letter to Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons, the Senators cited the delayed reporting of two deaths in ICE custody in Georgia and requested information on agency oversight of detention facilities and contractors.\n\n\u201cWe write with serious alarm regarding the rise in the number of deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody nationwide. We are especially concerned by the deaths of two individuals in ICE custody in Georgia this year. We request that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE immediately provide information about these individuals\u2019 deaths and about the Trump administration\u2019s plan to prevent further fatalities,\u201d the Senators wrote.\n\nAccording to ICE\u2019s Detainee Death Reporting website, ten people died in ICE custody in the first half of 2025, the highest total for the same period since 2018.\n\nIn Georgia, according to reporting, Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, 68, died on May 5 during transport from the Lowndes County Jail to Stewart Detention Center by TransCor, a CoreCivic subsidiary contracted by ICE. His family has said he had no prior health conditions.\n\nOn June 7, according to reporting, Jesus Molina-Veya, 45, died at Stewart Detention Center after being found unconscious in his cell. ICE reports indicate a ligature was found around his neck. His death is the thirteenth at Stewart since 2006.\n\n\u201cICE has reported fourteen deaths in custody since January 2025. There have been additional public reports of a fifteenth detainee death, which ICE has not yet confirmed. Ten of these deaths occurred between January and June\u2014the highest number of deaths in the first six months of any year listed in ICE\u2019s public records. DHS must address safety and conditions within detention facilities in Georgia and across the country to prevent more deaths in its custody,\u201d the Senators continued.\n\nConcern over conditions in detention also comes after DHS cut jobs in the oversight divisions focused on civil rights. This included widespread cuts within the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, which conducts oversight of ICE and Customs and Border Protection detention. The senator sent a letter earlier this week urging the administration to answer question about the conditions for pregnant individuals in ICE custody. In 2022, the senators pressed the Biden Administration for answers about allegations of sexual assault against women at the ICE Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.\n\nThe letter text can be found HERE and below.\n\n\u201cDear Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:\n\nWe write with serious alarm regarding the rise in the number of deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody nationwide. We are especially concerned by the deaths of two individuals in ICE custody in Georgia this year. We request that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE immediately provide information about these individuals\u2019 deaths and about the Administration\u2019s plan to prevent further fatalities.\n\nICE has publicly confirmed that Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, a 68-year-old Mexican citizen, died in ICE custody during transport from a local jail to Stewart Detention Center (\u201cStewart\u201d) on May 5, 2025. Media reports indicate that his death occurred while he was in the care of TransCor, a wholly owned subsidiary of CoreCivic, contracted by ICE to transport detainees. Mr. Avellaneda-Delgado\u2019s family has stated publicly that he had no known preexisting health conditions before being detained in local custody.\n\nICE has also publicly confirmed that Jesus Molina-Veya, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen in the custody of ICE at Stewart, was pronounced dead by medical professionals at 6:42 p.m. on June 7, 2025. Mr. Molina-Veya\u2019s death has been reported as a suicide. His death marks the thirteenth death, and the third death by suicide, at Stewart since ICE began holding immigrants in the facility in 2006.\n\nStewart has faced numerous allegations of civil rights and civil liberties violations, including reports of sexual abuse, medical neglect, overuse of solitary confinement, overcrowding, barriers to accessing legal representation, forced labor, substandard food, and issues with grievance reporting. A 2017 Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties report assessing conditions at Stewart found the facility had an insufficient number of staff to manage the health needs of detainees, including highlighting a time when only one mental health provider would be available to serve a detainee population of 1,800. Persistent deficiencies in medical care may contribute to preventable deaths and serious illnesses among detainees.\n\nICE has reported fourteen deaths in custody since January 2025. There have been additional public reports of a fifteenth detainee death, which ICE has not yet confirmed. Ten of these deaths occurred between January and June\u2014the highest number of deaths in the first six months of any year listed in ICE\u2019s public records. DHS must address safety and conditions within detention facilities in Georgia and across the country to prevent more deaths in its custody.\n\nAdditionally, ICE is failing to meet its own standards for reporting detainee deaths, thereby hindering Congressional oversight efforts and leaving families in the dark as to their loved ones\u2019 fates. ICE\u2019s own guidance requires the agency to post an interim notice of any detainee death to ICE\u2019s website \u201cwithin 48 hours,\u201d and directs that \u201cevery effort should be made to post the interim notice\u201d sooner (\u201cas quickly as reasonably possible\u201d). Yet, of the fifteen detainee deaths so far this year, ICE published notice within two days in only six cases. For example, according to ICE reports, Mr. Avellaneda Delgado was pronounced dead on May 5. ICE did not publicly post notification of his death until May 8.\n\nGiven these issues, we ask that you provide both a briefing and written response to the following questions no later than October 31, 2025.\n\nPublic reporting indicates that, although he was apparently healthy when he was taken into local custody, Mr. Avellaneda-Delgado appeared ill the day before he died during transport. What was his health status when he was taken into ICE custody for transport?\n\nWhat was the official cause of Mr. Avellaneda Delgado\u2019s death, as reported on his autopsy?\n\nPlease provide a copy of the detainee death review, Healthcare and Security Compliance Analysis, Mortality Review, Root Cause Analysis, autopsy report, and psychological autopsy report for this death.\n\nHas ICE contacted local authorities to secure Mr. Avellaneda-Delgado\u2019s medical records and information about his medical history preceding his death?\n\nWhat corrective actions were recommended to the transportation provider by ICE Office of Professional Responsibility as a result of this death?\n\nWhat consequences or corrective actions have been levied on the transportation provider as a result of this death?\n\nWhen was Mr. Avellaneda-Delgado\u2019s family notified of his death? How were they notified? Who provided this notice?\n\nWhat health assessments and medical care does ICE require transportation contractors to provide?\n\nWhat health assessments does ICE require transportation providers to administer prior to transport, pursuant to their contracts?\n\nDo ICE contracts require transportation contractors to be able to provide medical care? If so, what care? If not, why not?\n\nWhat monitoring of detainees does ICE require during transport?\n\nHow frequently must transportation providers check on detainees?\n\nWhat video footage of transport is required to be captured? What measures are in place to ensure the protection of that video footage? How and when is it reviewed?\n\nWhat protocols does ICE have in place to ensure that detainees receive their prescribed medications on the day of a transport or during a transfer of custody?\n\nWhat oversight measures do DHS and ICE have in place for transportation contractors, such as TransCor?\n\nHow often are transportation contractors audited?\n\nHow often are contracts with transportation providers reviewed for compliance?\n\nPlease provide a copy of ICE\u2019s contract with TransCor.\n\nWhat were Mr. Molina-Veya\u2019s conditions of confinement at the time of his death? Please provide details regarding the conditions of his cell, access to support, and his interaction with detention staff members.\n\nDid Mr. Molina-Veya ever express thoughts of suicidal ideation to staff members or to other detainees?\n\nWas Mr. Molina-Veya held in segregation at any point during his confinement at Stewart? If so, why and for how long?\n\nWhat was the official cause of death, as reported on his autopsy?\n\nHow long was Mr. Molina-Veya detained at Stewart?\n\nHow many medical and mental health staff positions were vacant at the time of Mr. Molina-Veya\u2019s death? Which ones?\n\nHow many mental health personnel were on staff at the time of Mr. MolinaVeya\u2019s death?\n\nHow many detainees were held at the facility at the time of Mr. Molina-Veya\u2019s death?\n\nPlease provide a copy of the detainee death review, Healthcare and Security Compliance Analysis, Mortality Review, Root Cause Analysis, autopsy report, and psychological autopsy report for this death.\n\nWhat corrective actions were recommended to the facility by ICE OPR as a result of this death?\n\nWhat corrective actions were recommended to the facility by ICE OPR as a result of this death? What consequences have been levied on the facility operator as a result of this death?\n\nWhen was Mr. Molina-Veya\u2019s family notified of his death? How were they notified? Who provided this notice?\n\nWhat mental health screening, treatment, and suicide prevention protocols does ICE require to be in place at Stewart?\n\nHow frequently does ICE audit Stewart for compliance with said protocols?\n\nHas Stewart ever failed to meet these requirements? If so, when and how?\n\nHow many licensed mental health professionals are currently employed at Stewart?\n\nHow many mental health staff positions are currently vacant at Stewart?\n\nWhat steps is DHS taking to fill these workforce shortages?\n\nAn Office of Professional Responsibility inspection report on Stewart issued in May 2025 reported two deficiencies related to self-harm and suicide prevention and intervention\u2014 namely, that certain staff had failed to complete annual comprehensive suicide prevention training and due to deficiencies in continuous monitoring of detainees placed on suicide precaution.24 Have these deficiencies been fully remedied? If not, when will they be fully remedied?\n\nWhat additional steps are DHS and ICE taking to prevent further suicides in ICE custody?\n\nICE guidance on detainee death reporting requires it to publish an interim death notice within 48 hours. ICE\u2019s website and press releases note that agency practice is to publish the interim notice within two business days. Yet, as noted above, the death notifications for Mr. Avellaneda-Delgado and Mr. Molina-Veya were published later than two business days after their deaths. Why were these delayed?\n\nPlease provide a copy of current ICE guidance governing detainee death reporting.\n\nHave any third-party inspections been conducted at ICE detention facilities in Georgia this year? By whom? Please provide copies of those reports.\n\nWhat is the average duration of detention in ICE detention facilities in Georgia? How is ICE ensuring individuals are not subjected to prolonged or indefinite detention?\n\nDo detainees have adequate access to clean drinking water, healthy food, and medical care while detained, in compliance with national detention standards?\n\nHow does ICE ensure compliance with national detention standards regarding the availability of drinking water?\n\nHow many reports have you received from detainees or their representatives registering issues with the safety or quality of drinking water?\n\nHow many drinking water stations are available per detainee, and where are drinking water stations located?\n\nDo detainees have access to healthy food while detained, in compliance with national detention standards?\n\nHow does ICE ensure compliance with national detention standards regarding the availability of healthy food?\n\nHow does ICE ensure that the specific nutritional needs of detainees with chronic health challenges are met?\n\nHow many reports have you received from detainees or their representatives\u2019 registering issues with the safety, nutritional value, or quality of food?\n\nDo detainees have access to appropriate medical, dental, and mental health care, including emergency services, in compliance with national detention standards?\n\nHow does ICE ensure compliance with national detention standards regarding medical care?\n\nDo detainees have access to any and all prescribed medication that they took before being detained? If not, why not?\n\nHow frequently is a detainee\u2019s medical state evaluated by a physician? What process does ICE follow to ensure detainees who require or request medical care are promptly evaluated by a physician?\n\nHow many pregnant women are currently detained in Georgia? Do they have access to an obstetrics physician while detained? If so, how often?\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-ossoff-press-trump-administration-over-deaths-in-ice-custody/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.4939063005149364, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}