Chicago – September 23, 2025
Georgia senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have demanded urgent answers from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following the deaths of more than a dozen people in immigration detention facilities.
Since the start of the Trump administration, 15 detainees have died, with 10 deaths recorded between January and June 2025 alone, marking a spike in mortality rates in these centers.
The senators raised concerns about overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and lack of adequate food and healthcare in detention centers, issues exacerbated by the Department of Homeland Security’s recent push to expand detention capacity using military bases and state partnerships.
They criticized the slow and inconsistent reporting of detainee deaths by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pointing out delays in public notifications that hinder congressional oversight and leave families in the dark.
The letter from Ossoff and Warnock follows a July report highlighting alleged human rights abuses in immigration detention, claims broadly denied by the DHS. Despite these denials, immigration advocates and lawmakers remain deeply concerned about the treatment of detainees, especially vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women, emphasizing the urgent need for transparency and accountability in these facilities.
