The Department of Homeland Security has eliminated a requirement forcing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to report deaths occurring within 30 days of detainee release, reversing a Biden-era transparency measure and raising concerns among medical experts about accountability for deaths linked to inadequate custody care.

Policy Reversal Limits Oversight

ICE rescinded a 2021 policy that mandated congressional reporting and investigation of deaths occurring within 30 days after detainees left custody. The original rule aimed to prevent ICE from releasing severely ill detainees to avoid accountability when death appeared imminent. Past cases included brain-dead individuals and detainees suffering serious infections who died shortly after release from detention facilities.

DHS defended the change as common sense, stating that when individuals are no longer in ICE custody, the agency bears no responsibility for monitoring or reviewing subsequent deaths. The department maintained its commitment to transparency for deaths occurring while detainees remain under ICE control, though the full updated policy has not been publicly released.

Medical Experts Sound Alarm

Dr. Sanjay Basu, a University of California-San Francisco epidemiologist who analyzed over 270 ICE custody deaths, warned the policy change will artificially lower mortality statistics without improving care quality. Basu explained that the period immediately following release reveals deaths attributable to inadequate confinement care, including missed diagnoses, interrupted medications, untreated infections, and deteriorating chronic conditions that do not cause immediate death.

The Washington Post first reported the policy shift on Thursday. Two health experts who previously investigated ICE custody deaths criticized the change Friday, though ICE continues denying allegations of medical neglect, asserting detainees receive comprehensive health care services throughout their detention.

Detention Numbers Surge

As of early April, ICE held more than 60,000 detainees across its national network, representing a 50 percent increase from approximately 40,000 at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis announced Tuesday that May marked the first month without a detainee death since November. She did not address questions about policy changes at that time, stating only that deaths in ICE custody remain exceedingly rare.

ICE detainees frequently die at hospitals where they receive treatment after conditions deteriorate inside detention facilities. Those detainees, however, generally remain classified as being in ICE custody, meaning their deaths will continue appearing in official statistics under the revised reporting policy.