Pressroom

Our latest press releases on important news and events relating to immigration detention in the United States

For media inquiries contact: media@detentionwatchnetwork.org

Advocates mourn another loss of life to ICE detention under Trump — record number of ICE deaths within a calendar year

October 7, 2025

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. 

ICE uses government shutdown to further evade transparency and accountability

October 7, 2025

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. 

DWN mourns the loss of life in ICE custody: Immigrant lives are of value, and immigrants deserve safety, dignity and respect

September 25, 2025

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.

Cruel and Deadly: Another Life Tragically Lost to Immigration Detention

September 4, 2025

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.

Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition Now Available as an Audiobook

August 21, 2025

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.

A Closer Look at Trump’s Shocking Immigration Detention Expansion Plans

August 20, 2025

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.

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