Pressroom

Dilley, Texas — Over the weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported at least two active measles cases at the South Texas Family Detention Center (Dilley). The ICE facility, which jails parents with their children–-including babies–-has a well-documented record of abuse, including medical neglect. Family detention, a policy that is widely condemned by the American public and was dormant for years prior to Trump’s return in 2025, has received a swell of backlash in recent weeks after the jailing of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was released with his father from the…

Dilley, Texas — The demand to end family detention is gaining renewed momentum alongside calls to cut Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding amidst growing outrage at ICE violence in Minneapolis, including the targeting of Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old who was abducted by ICE with his dad and later sent to the South Texas Family Detention Center (Dilley). Today, U.S. Congressional Representatives Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) and Joaquin Castro (TX-20) will be at the South Texas Family Detention Center to conduct an oversight visit. A press conference in San Antonio with the…

Washington, DC — Today in a massive show of support, 1,025 organizations, including immigrant justice, human rights, civil rights, faith, and labor organizations sent a letter to members of Congress to express horror, outrage and deep grief about the recent shooting deaths by federal agents in Minneapolis. “We demand an immediate halt in all funding for these deadly operations until the violence, abuses, and deaths in American communities and in immigration detention centers stop,” states the letter. “Congress must refuse to provide one dollar to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or…

Minneapolis, Minnesota — In response to another fatal shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Carly Pérez Fernández, Communications Director at Detention Watch Network, said: “Another person was shot dead in the streets of Minneapolis today. We are witnessing a watershed moment. Our shock and horror are only matched with anger and resolve – we demand that Congress stop funding ICE and CBP, not now, not ever. ICE and CBP kill — full stop. Whether targeting people in the streets, where they work or live, or behind closed doors in one of ICE’s nearly 200 abuse-ridden…

Congress’s fiscal year 2026 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill is poised to further increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) already bloated budget, allowing ICE to continue expanding its detention capacity at a time when people are dying in the system at a record pace. The current negotiated funding bill would provide billions of new tax dollars to private contractors already profiting from the windfall of funds DHS received last summer, when Congress passed President Trump’s reconciliation bill defunding Americans’ access to healthcare and food security, affordable housing…

Washington, DC — While communities in Minneapolis and across the country mourn the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was executed by ICE last Wednesday, ICE has revealed that four people died in its custody in just the first 10 days of the New Year: Parady La, 46, was detained at Federal Detention Center (FDC) Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and died on January 9 Luis Beltran Yanez–Cruz, 68, was detained at the Imperial Regional Detention Center in California and died on January 6 Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, was detained at Camp East Montana (Ft Bliss) in Texas and died on January 3 Luis Gustavo…

Minneapolis, Minnesota — Today, an ICE officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, less than a mile from where George Floyd was killed by the police in 2020. The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom that tracks gun violence, including by ICE, notes there have been at least 14 ICE shootings under the Trump administration, as of January 7, 2026. According to The Trace: “They include the shootings of three people observing or documenting ICE raids; the shootings of five people driving away from traffic stops or evading an enforcement action; and the September 30 raid on a Chicago apartment building…

Washington, DC — Today Detention Watch Network and Popular Democracy held a press conference to honor people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigration detention. The press conference featured Congresswoman Emily Randall (WA-06), directly impacted people and national immigrant justice leaders who denounced the Trump administration’s mass detention and deportation agenda. Shockingly, there have been at least 25 deaths in ICE custody in just ten months, a record number of deaths within a calendar year since Detention Watch Network began tracking in 2006. Today’s press…

Washington, DC — In response to news that the Trump administration plans to use the US Navy to build and expand immigration detention centers, Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement: “Trump’s increasing use of military bases, funding, and personnel - now including the US Navy - for the targeting, detention, and deportation of people is beyond the scope and scale of any immigration enforcement plans we’ve seen before, setting a dangerous precedent. We have long known that Trump’s cruel deportation agenda would be bottomlined in an…

Atlanta, GA — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly planning to restart detaining migrants in its custody at the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC), a facility notorious for human rights violations, sparking immediate concern from Georgia advocacy groups and directly-impacted community members. The Irwin County Detention Center's contract with ICE was terminated four years ago following courageous testimony from detained women who exposed horrific abuses, including invasive gynecological procedures happening without proper informed consent. Since the initial 2020 complaints…

Washington, DC — In response to the furlough of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Detention Oversight as a result of the government shutdown, despite all other ICE operations and detention continuing, Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at Detention Watch Network issued the following statement: “ICE purposefully obscures the truth — full stop. For the nearly 60,000 people in ICE custody, every measure of oversight is crucial because lives are in jeopardy. There have been at least 20 deaths in ICE custody since Trump’s inauguration, a record number of deaths within a calendar…

Imperial County, California — Freedom for Immigrants, Imperial Liberation Collaborative, and Detention Watch Network are mourning the death of Huabing Xie who died in ICE custody on September 29 after being detained at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in California. Immigrant justice groups are demanding an immediate investigation and public release of the findings related to Mr. Xie’s death. Shockingly, there have been at least 20 deaths in ICE custody since Trump’s inauguration, a record number of deaths within a calendar year since DWN began tracking in 2006. By comparison, at least…

Washington, DC - In response to the news that the Trump administration has sent 10 people to Eswatini, including at least two people from Vietnam, Stacy Suh, Program Director of Detention Watch Network issued the following statement: “Trump continues to disappear and exile people as a part of his unrelenting pursuit of demonizing immigrants, completely disregarding people's well-being and humanity. Trump’s expansion of third country deportations, when a person is deported to a country other than their country of origin, where they often have no connection, is a clear tool of propaganda to…

Washington, DC — In response to the government shut down, Setareh Ghandehari advocacy director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement: “The Trump administration is continuing to scapegoat immigrants for the failures of the federal government, but it is clear who is truly responsible for the government shutdown. Since January, Trump has prioritized cruel and callous immigration enforcement at the expense of critical needs for all Americans, most prominently life-saving and accessible healthcare. Trump’s MAGA-backed megabill that passed in June directed billions of taxpayer…

Washington, DC — In response to the shooting at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Field Office in Dallas, Detention Watch Network released the following statement: “Detention Watch Network condemns the shooting in Dallas that resulted in the death of an immigrant in ICE custody. A person tragically lost their life — a family will forever be changed — while two other people are fighting for their lives in critical condition. Our message is clear: Immigrant lives are of value, and immigrants deserve safety, dignity and respect. We mourn the loss of life yesterday and the other 17…

Florence, AZ — The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project and Detention Watch Network are mourning the tragic loss of Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, affectionately known as "Lenchito,” a beloved son, brother, and friend who died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on Sunday, August 31, 2025. ICE had detained Mr. Batrez Vargas at Central Arizona Correctional Complex in Florence, Arizona and has reported that the cause of his death is currently unknown. Immigrant justice groups are demanding an immediate investigation and public release of the findings related to Mr…

Washington, DC — Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition, by Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network is now available as an Audiobook. Unbuild Walls, released in May 2024, dives into US immigration policy and its relationship to mass incarceration, from the last 40 years to the present, showing how the prison-industrial complex and immigration enforcement are intertwined systems of repression. Shah’s book is a timely intervention as the Trump administration aggressively purses a mass detention and deportation agenda. The book outlines how the US remains…

Washington, DC — Trump’s cruel mass detention and deportation agenda has reached a previously unimaginable scope and scale. Last week, a Washington Post report revealed what advocates have been calling attention to for months: with the shocking infusion of funding from the MAGA-backed megabill, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to double its detention capacity by the end of this year to detain nearly 110,000 people. To put this into perspective, Texas alone will have the capacity to detain at least 37,000 people, more than the entire detention system’s funded capacity for 10 of…

NATIONWIDE — Immigrant justice groups are raising the alarm on the rapid expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention through state, federal, and private prisons, including the reopening of facilities that have been shut down. On Friday, a Washington Post report revealed what advocates have been calling attention to for months: with the shocking infusion of funding from the MAGA-backed megabill, ICE plans to double its detention capacity by the end of this year to detain more than 100,000 people. This followed news earlier last week that ICE will open a new immigration…

Washington, DC — Breaking reporting from the Washington Post reveals what advocates have been sounding the alarm on for months: with the shocking infusion of funding from the MAGA-backed megabill, ICE plans to double its detention capacity by the end of this year to detain more than 100,00 people. This follows reporting this week that ICE will open a new immigration detention center in Hudson, Colorado at a shuttered state prison, while in Mason, Tennessee, town officials voted to reopen a former prison into an immigration detention facility, despite objections from local residents. In Florida…

Indianapolis, IN — Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it has entered into an agreement with Indiana to detain up to 1,000 people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Miami Correctional Facility, a maximum security state prison north of Indianapolis. Modeled after the agreement for the Everglades detention camp in Florida, this is the second major detention agreement between ICE and a state government to expand immigration detention capacity purportedly through the use of the 287(g) program. The maximum security prison is located on the former…

Washington, DC — In response to the news that FEMA is reassigning employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Setareh Ghandehari, Advocacy Director of Detention Watch Network issued the following statement: “It is despicable that during hurricane season and amidst historic flash floods that have devastated the country, sweeping away kids from their camps, homes, and loved ones, that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security would force FEMA employees to abandon that critical work in order to carry out the administration’s mass detention and deportation agenda. This agenda is driven…

Washington, DC — In response to news that the Trump administration is deploying the National Guard to assist in processing people for immigration detention in 20 states, Setareh Ghandehari, Advocacy Director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement: “The escalating use of the National Guard to carry out the administration’s cruel mass detention and deportation agenda is yet another marker of an authoritarian regime. Earlier this summer, protests in Los Angeles and nationwide illuminated that people do not want ICE, detention centers, or any militarized presence in communities…

Washington, DC - Reflecting on the first six months of Trump’s second term, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, shared the following: “Over the past six months, Trump’s weaponization of immigration detention to expand his authoritarian strategies has made clear that this cruel, abusive system never should have existed in the first place. For decades, politicians across the political spectrum have sold us a lie that immigration is a public safety issue, but the reality is that when you accept the premise that some people are deserving of incarceration, detention, or…

Washington, DC — Members of Congress are lending their support of Detention Watch Network’s (DWN) Communities Not Cages campaign relaunch, renewing calls to shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers and stop the expansion of facilities as constituents across the country denounce the Trump administration’s cruel mass detention and deportation agenda that was just supercharged with the passage of the MAGA megabill. The bill provides a shocking $150 billion for the targeting, detention, and deportation of people, including $45 billion for ICE detention to detain…