Source: Senator Jon Ossoff, US Senate
Executive Summary
As of January 12, 2026, Senator Ossoff’s investigation into human rights abuses in U.S. immigration detention has received or identified over a thousand credible reports of human rights abuses within U.S. immigration detention since January 20, 2025, which reveal an undeniable pattern of human rights abuse in immigration detention. Senator Ossoff has released two previous reports in his investigation, including a first report, released on August 5, 2025, that uncovered credible reports of mistreatment of pregnant women and children in immigration detention1 , and a second report, released on October 31, which found medical neglect and denial of adequate food or water, including cases that reportedly led to life-threatening injuries and complications and cases that reportedly led to malnutrition and dehydration.2
Since the release of his initial report on August 5, 2025, Senator Ossoff’s continued investigation into human rights abuses in U.S. immigration detention has received or identified an additional 527 credible reports of human rights abuses, bringing the total number of credible reports of human rights abuses received or identified by this investigation to 1037 between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026. Over that period, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed 36 deaths in custody.3 Since January 12, 2026, ICE has confirmed an additional two deaths, for a total of 38 deaths since January 20, 2025.4
As detailed in Section III, the total number of credible reports of human rights abuses received or identified between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, includes:
• 44 credible reports of family separation, including mothers reportedly separated from their breastfeeding infants, in one case “for several months”;
• 206 credible reports of medical neglect that has reportedly led, in some cases, to life threatening injuries and complications, including a detainee who reportedly waited seven hours for urgent medical care after they reportedly drank contaminated tap water at an ICE facility, suffered an allergic reaction, and lost consciousness;
• 26 credible reports of mistreatment of pregnant women;
• 40 credible reports of mistreatment of children;
• 88 credible reports of physical and sexual abuse;
• 139 credible reports of denial of adequate food or water, including cases that reportedly led to malnutrition and dehydration;
• 161 credible reports of denial of access to attorneys, including multiple reports from detainees that ICE officials have told them they are not allowed to meet with their attorneys;
• 181 credible reports of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions;
• 50 credible reports of exposure to extreme temperatures; and
• 102 credible reports of imposed sleep deprivation.
Background
In January 2025, Senator Ossoff launched an investigation into human rights abuses in U.S. immigration detention. The Senator’s staff has interviewed and received credible reports of abuse from dozens of witnesses and sources, including correctional staff, law enforcement officials, attorneys, detainees and their family members, doctors, and nurses; conducted site inspections of DHS-, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)-, and Bureau of Prisons-administrated facilities; and analyzed public reports and court records. Additionally, from January through August, the Senator’s staff interviewed 56 detainees, including during site inspections at El Paso Service Processing Center and South Texas Family Residential Center (“Dilley”) in Texas and at Stewart Detention Center, Folkston D. Ray ICE Processing Center, and FCI Atlanta in Georgia. The Senator’s staff also inspected the South Texas ICE Processing Center and Compass Connections San Antonio Shelter for unaccompanied children.
Obstruction of Congressional oversight by the Department of Homeland Security, including temporarily denying access to a facility based on arbitrary changes in notice requirements, has been an impediment to oversight.
Over the course of this ongoing twelve-month investigation, Senator Ossoff has led ten oversight letters to federal agencies including DHS, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the HHS, and the Department of Defense (DoD), demanding further information about immigration detention at Guantánamo Bay and in federal prisons, threats by the Administration to lower Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention standards, the reestablishment of family detention, and related topics. To date, the administration has neglected to respond to five of these Congressional oversight letters. The Senator continues to investigate DHS operations to ensure transparency and to prevent human rights abuses in U.S. government custody.
Between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, the Senator’s office received or identified 1037 credible reports of human rights abuses against detainees, including those described in this and the office’s prior publications. The Senator’s staff acknowledges that the credible reports received or identified are not exhaustive.
New Findings
Through interviews, analysis of public reports, and site visits, the Senator’s office, between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, has received or identified 1037 credible reports of human rights abuses against individuals held in DHS-, HHS- and BOP-administrated facilities, county jails, and federal buildings across 28 U.S. states and Puerto Rico; at U.S. military bases, including Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, and Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas; and on chartered deportation flights.
Reported Abuses
Credible reports received or identified by the Senator’s staff between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, describe the following abuses:
• Family Separation;
• Medical Neglect;
• Mistreatment of Pregnant Women;
• Mistreatment of Children;
• Physical and Sexual Abuse;
• Denial of Adequate Food or Water;
• Denial of Access to Attorneys;
• Overcrowding and Unsanitary Living Conditions;
• Exposure to Extreme Temperatures in Facilities; and
• Imposed Sleep Deprivation.
The credible reports received or identified by the Senator’s staff include:
• An attorney representing a detainee who reportedly gave birth in an ICE facility reported
that the detainee was separated from her breastfeeding infant for “several months.” When
the detainee was released, she reportedly was unable to resume breastfeeding due to the
separation.
• A newly postpartum detainee reported to the Senator’s staff that she could not shower for
weeks while in a detention facility, reportedly because the facility’s guards required her to
hold her baby at all times.
•A detainee at an ICE facility drank tap water that was reportedly contaminated with high
levels of chlorine, which reportedly caused an allergic reaction and severe burns to their
throat and nasal passages. The detainee was reportedly denied medical help for over seven
hours and reportedly lost consciousness before being transferred to a medical clinic.
• Multiple children at an ICE facility in Texas reported to the Senator’s staff that they
received only two hours each day of education and that they were “coloring in coloring
books” because there were reportedly no lessons offered in the children’s native language.
One child reported, “I have no friends here.”
• An 11-year-old detainee and their mother were reportedly held in DHS custody inside
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport for five days in a “freezing” cell.5
• Multiple detainees reported that DHS officials threatened to take their children away if
they did not sign a voluntary departure form.
• An attorney representing a detainee with mental health issues reported that the detainee
was placed in solitary confinement in an ICE facility for 30 days and only “intermittently”
given his prescribed antidepressants. The attorney reported that, as a result of being denied
regular access to their medication, the detainee suffered from auditory hallucinations,
insomnia, and severe depression.
• A detainee reported that an ICE officer kicked in a door at an ICE facility, which
reportedly hit the detainee in the head and reportedly caused migraines and nausea.
• A child reportedly collapsed on a deportation flight, reportedly forcing the plane to turn
back to the U.S.6 The child was reportedly taken to the hospital upon landing, but ICE
reportedly would allow only one parent to join the child, while the other parent would be
deported.7
• A U.S. citizen and Army veteran reported that they were detained for three days without
access to an attorney or contact with their family.8
• A detainee with epilepsy reported that they had “multiple seizures per day” in an ICE
facility, even though the detainee was reportedly prescribed an “unknown pill” by the
facility’s health staff to treat their epilepsy.
• Both detainees and attorneys representing detainees in facilities nationwide have reported
to the Senator’s staff that legal calls and visits with attorneys are monitored by ICE officials.
Some detainees have reported that ICE officials told them they are not allowed to meet with
their attorneys.
Additionally, ICE has reported and confirmed 36 deaths in custody between January 20, 2025 and January 12, 2026, and two more deaths since January 12, 2026.9 32 of those deaths reportedly occurred between January 20 and December 31, 2025, reportedly representing the highest number of deaths in ICE custody in one year since 2004. 10
Reported locations of abuses
Between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, staff received or identified credible reports of human rights abuses against individuals held in facilities in 28 U.S. states and Puerto Rico; at U.S. military bases, including Fort Bliss, Guantánamo Bay, and Camp Lemonnier; and on chartered deportation flights. Figure 1 below shows how many reports the Senator’s staff has received or identified within each state and Puerto Rico. “Other” denotes credible reports of human rights abuses occurring on U.S. military bases and on chartered deportation flights.
The vast majority of the 1037 credible reports of human rights abuses received or identified by the Senator’s staff originated from facilities in Texas (179 credible reports), Florida (168 credible reports), California (146 credible reports), and Georgia (137 credible reports).
Reported Facility Administrators
Between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, staff received or identified credible reports of human rights abuses among detainees held in DHS (ICE and CBP), HHS, and BOP facilities and on U.S. military bases administered by DoD. Figure 2 below shows how many credible reports staff received or identified, by facility administrator. Most credible reports received or identified between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, concern conditions and treatment in ICE facilities.
Footnotes
1 Senator Jon Ossoff, The Abuse of Pregnant Women & Children in U.S. Immigration Detention (Aug. 5, 2025), https://www.
ossoff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/250721_Pregnancy_Report_v7.pdf.
2 Senator Jon Ossoff, Medical Neglect & Denial of Adequate Food or Water in U.S. Immigration Detention (Oct. 31,
2025), https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/25.10.24_Sen.-O....
3 Official ICE death reports for the deceased, Genry Ruiz Guillen, Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, Maksym Chernyak, Brayan Rayo-Garzon, Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, Maire Ange Blaise, Abelardo Avelleneda-Delgado, Jesus Molina-Veya, Johnny Noviello, Isidro Perez, Tien Xuan Phan, Chaofeng Ge, Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, Oscar Duarte Rascon, and Ismael Ayala Uribe are publicly available at the following location, as required by Federal law (2018 DHS Appropriations Bill): Detainee Death Reporting, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), https://www.ice.gov/detain/detainee-death-reporting.
Additionally, ICE press releases reporting the deaths in custody of Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, Santos Reyes-Banegas, Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, Huabing Xie, Miguel Ángel García-Hernandez, Leo Cruz-Silva, Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, Kai Yin Wong, Jose Castro Rivera, Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Pete Sumalo Montejo, Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, Jean Wilson Brutus, Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, Nenko Stanev Gantchev, Geraldo Lunas Campos, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, Luis Beltran Yanez Crus, Parady La, Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, and Victor Manuel Diaz are available at the following links, respectively:
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/dominican-national-passes-away-centro-..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/honduran-national-ice-custody-passes-away,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/victim-active-shooter-attack-dallas-ice-field-office-identified,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-china-passes-away-region..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-reports-second-death-dallas-sniper..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-announces-death-illegal-alien-mexi..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-jordan-ice-custody-passe...,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-china-and-convicted-chil...,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-announces-death-illegal-alien-hond..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-dies-victorville-medical-center-california-after-complications-alcohol,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-guatemala-ice-custody-di...,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/criminal-illegal-alien-pakistan-passes..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/criminal-illegal-alien-passes-away-uni...,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-nicaragua-passes-away-ho..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-eritrea-passes-away-mosh...,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-bulgaria-passes-away-nor..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-reports-aggravated-felon-and-convi...,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-alien-ice-custody-passes-away-..., https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/career-criminal-illegal-alien-ice-cust...,
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-detainee-passes-away-georgias-robe..., and https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-reports-death-illegal-alien-custody-el-paso
[hereinafter “Deaths in Custody Reported by ICE”].
Additionally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made 27 reports regarding CBP-involved deaths between January 20, 2025, and January 12, 2026, “pursuant to the CBP policy regarding Notification and Review Procedures for Certain Deaths and Deaths in Custody and the Department of Homeland Security FY 2021 Appropriation (H. Rept. 116-458) reporting requirements related to CBP-involved deaths.”
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/media-releases/all.
4 Id.
Motion to Enforce the Flores Agreement, Exhibit 14, https://www.centerforhumanrights.org/_files/ugd/ba2119_8ea2c803f4144a11a....
6 McKenzie Funk, Inside ICE Air: Flight Attendants on Deportation Planes Say Disaster Is “Only a Matter of Time,” ProPublica (Apr. 1, 2025), https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights.
7 Id.
8 Billal Rahman, U.S. Citizen, Army Veteran Arrested by ICE Claps Back at DHS ‘Debunk,’ Newsweek (Oct. 13, 2025), https://www.newsweek.com/us-citizen-army-veteran-arrested-ice-dhs-debunk-10870108
9 Deaths in Custody Reported by ICE, supra n. 3
10 Maanvi Singh, Coral Murphy Marcos, & Charlotte Simmonds, 2025 was ICE’s deadliest year in two decades. Here are the 32 people who died in custody (Jan. 4, 2026), The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/04/ice2025-d....
