Rodrigo, a 58-year-old construction worker from LA who survived throat cancer and 36 rounds of chemotherapy, is now slowly dying in an ICE detention center. The tumor on his neck has grown to the size of a lemon, pressing against his throat, making it difficult to speak and swallow, yet he has been unable to see an oncologist for months — even though facility staff themselves requested the consultation back in January. This is not a case of negligence or bureaucratic backlog; it is a systematic policy that advocates have called a "policy of death." Since October of last year, after the Department of Veterans Affairs terminated its agreement with ICE, the agency has stopped paying for any outside medical care altogether. Hospitals and doctors are owed millions of dollars, vital surgeries and appointments are being canceled, and some detainees are receiving direct bills for treatment that ICE's own standards require to be provided free of charge.
The death toll in ICE custody has spiked dramatically, with 31 deaths recorded in 2025 — the highest in two decades — and 2026 is on track to be even worse. Investigators and physicians who have reviewed dozens of cases say many of these deaths were entirely preventable with timely diagnosis and care. Meanwhile, ICE has quietly rescinded a rule requiring deaths to be investigated and reported within 30 days of a detainee's release, meaning the agency can now simply release dying people and avoid responsibility when they perish outside its walls. One Department of Homeland Security claimed, "ICE is no longer responsible when a person dies weeks after being released," calling the change "common sense." But in reality, it is a deliberate choice to let people die without leaving a paper trail. According to Adina Applebaum, a spokesperson for the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, "ICE's denial of medical care is an intentional political choice, not an accident."
#ICE #immigration #healthcare
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