Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly getting rid of a Biden-era policy that required the agency to report any detainees who may have died within 30 days of their release.
The policy change was made by acting ICE Director David Venturella, whose memo about the eliminated policy was obtained by the Washington Post on Thursday.
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“ICE is returning to the standard practice of reporting deaths that occur while an individual is in agency custody,” Venturella wrote in the internal memo.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the change, telling the Washington Post that ICE should not be responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths of detainees weeks after their release from federal custody.
The 30-day requirement for ICE to report detainee deaths took effect in 2021 under the Biden administration. At the time, the federal government wanted to keep ICE accountable for newly released detainees with serious medical problems after a man once jailed at the Adelanto detention center in California died three days after his release from COVID-19 complications.
The issue of detainee deaths has returned to the fore as the Trump administration aggressively implements its immigration agenda.
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At least 18 immigrants have died in ICE custody so far this year, according to the agency. The tally from last year exceeded 30 deaths, marking the highest fatality rate in two decades.
One of the detainees who died in December was Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian immigrant held at Delaney Hall in New Jersey. The Newark-based detention center is currently the site of anti-ICE protests over what immigrant advocates and federal lawmakers allege are poor conditions inside the facility, allegations DHS has disputed.
