Former ICE Official Warns of Grim Outlook After Deadliest Year in Detention: 'Can Staffing Keep Pace?'

"Can staffing actually keep pace with the increase in population?" asked Peter Mina, a former ICE official and deputy officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) at the Department of Homeland Security interviewed by NPR. "That becomes particularly challenging in more remote locations where it was already difficult to find qualified staff willing to come out and work."

Mina said that the expansion "places risk all across the system, including, unfortunately, individuals in detention facing medical conditions that might result in their death."

ICE has received roughly $70 billion this year to expand detention facilities and hire additional deportation and medical staff as part of President Trump's enforcement agenda. However, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties — which reviews deaths in custody — lost hundreds of staff earlier this year, and the Office of Detention Oversight has been inactive during the ongoing government shutdown, as NPR points out.

The most recent recorded death occurred on October 11, when Hasan Ali Moh'd Saleh, a 67-year-old Jordanian national, died of cardiac arrest at a Miami hospital after a month in ICE detention. ICE said Saleh had a medical history of hypertension, diabetes, and renal disease.

His death followed those of Leo Cruz-Silva, a 34-year-old Mexican national who died by apparent suicide on October 4, and Huabing Xie, a 43-year-old Chinese national who died after a seizure on September 29.

Advocates say these incidents expose systemic problems, including medical neglect, overcrowding, and lack of oversight. "These senseless deaths will not stop until we close detention centers and free our community members," said Amanda Díaz of Freedom for Immigrants in a press release after Xie's death.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NPR that detainees receive comprehensive medical care, including screenings within 12 hours of arrival and 24-hour emergency services, and said ICE is "actively recruiting healthcare professionals" to meet growing demand.

Former officials caution that without significant changes, the rising number of detainees and persistent staffing shortages could make next year even deadlier. As Mina put it, "The real question is: in a given case, were there circumstances or actions taken or not taken that suggest that that death may have been preventable?"