Suicides in ICE detention centers rise in past year

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]The call came from an ICE detention center just south of San Antonio, Texas, 4 days before Christmas.

[00:00:06]>> We have a 33y old pregnant female banging her head on the wall and she's just using transport >> two months earlier. This call from the same facility.

[00:00:17]>> We need an ambulance over here. We have um a 28-year-old that tried to um hang hang himself >> and another late last year.

[00:00:28]>> Yes, ma'am. I'm calling from South Texas Hospital in regards to a 20-year-old um with a neck laceration.

[00:00:36]He said neck. Yes. Okay. Is it bleeding pretty bad? Do you know it's self harm?

[00:00:41]He's been on this all day.

[00:00:43]>> These just a few of more than 1,000 911 calls from six ICE immigration centers across the country over the past year obtained by NBC News through open records request. 28 of those calls involved serious incidents of self harm.

[00:00:59]One man swallowed a razor blade. Another drank cleaning chemicals. At least three cut their wrist. Self harm and suicide in ICE detention appear to be on the rise. Five presumed suicides so far this year, the highest in at least two decades according to ICE data. And it's only May. There were only two reported suicides over four years of President Biden's term. Experts say it's all part of a larger rise in deaths at ICE detention facilities.

[00:01:27]>> We saw the highest mortality rates in two decades.

[00:01:30]>> A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Sanjay Bassu looks at how the death rate is increasing. Is it just a matter of there are more people in detention so therefore you're going to have more deaths or is there something different going on here? there's something different going on here because it's not just the overall number of deaths but also the rate of deaths per person or per number of people >> and he says suicides have spiked.

[00:01:56]>> Suicides are the tip of the iceberg and usually indicates that there are much greater mental health issues going on.

[00:02:03]>> Immigration attorneys say a new policy causes extra distress. ICE data shows they're being held longer under this administration and detainees don't get much information about whether they'll be released or deported. ICE pushing back. Outgoing director Todd Lions responded to questions about the rise in deaths in a congressional hearing last month.

[00:02:22]>> It is the highest because we do have the highest amount in detention that ICE has ever had since its inception in 2003.

[00:02:28]And in a statement, a DHS spokesperson telling NBC News, "Consistent with data over the last decade, death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.009% of the detained population. As bedspace has rapidly expanded, we have maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold US citizens, including providing access to proper medical care." DHS said they could not respond to the 911 calls without knowing the names of each individual, which were redacted from the calls we obtained.

[00:03:00]>> ICE told us that there's no spike in deaths, at least from a rate perspective. What would you say to that?

[00:03:08]>> We need to check our ability to multiply and divide.

[00:03:12]>> Okay. Okay. So, it's pretty obvious to you.

[00:03:15]>> Yeah.

[00:03:19]>> Yes.

[00:03:22]Okay, I'll go ahead and email you and see what happens.

[00:03:24]>> As experts say, emergencies like these are preventable, the government says they're tragic and rare, and the problem isn't new.

[00:03:34]>> Julia is joining us now here. Is there anything on the policy front that could be used to help mitigate some of this?

[00:03:39]>> Yeah, it's interesting. The DHS inspector general just got a $20 million cash windfall to do more unannounced inspections. That's the exact kind of thing that epidemiologists, people like Dr. Basu, who we talked to, and immigration advocates say is necessary in order to make sure that the conditions inside are helpful to make sure people are getting the kind of help they need if they're at risk for a serious illness or self harm.

[00:04:00]>> Julia Any, thank you for bringing us your reporting. We really appreciate it.

[00:04:03]We should note that if you or anybody you know is struggling, there is help.

[00:04:06]The crisis text line, text home to 741741.

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