More than 20 people have died in ICE custody in the last 12 months - the highest toll in 15 years and more than double the deaths of a year before
At least 21 undocumented immigrants have died in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the last 12 months, according to data released by the agency.
ICE announced the figures for the fiscal year 2020, which covered October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020.
The death toll of 21 for the 2020 fiscal year far exceeds the eight deaths recorded for the 2019 fiscal year, and matches the death toll from 2005.
At least 28 migrants died in custody of ICE in 2004.
Maria Celeste Ochoa and Cipriano Chavez were among the 21 undocumented immigrants who died in custody of ICE from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020
Demonstrators gather outside of Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, during a demonstration Monday calling for the abolishment of ICE. Data from ICE shows that 21 detainees died under its custody during fiscal year 2020, which spanned October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020
ICE reported that eight of the 21 deaths this year were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Another seven detainees committed suicide. The six other deaths were tied to cardiac arrest and a brain injury.
Data from the agency also showed that 6,208 of 42,366 detainees have tested positive for the coronavirus since the outbreak of the epidemic.
The Stewart Detention Center, a private prison in Lumpkin, Georgia, contracted by ICE, was the worst hit with three migrant deaths related to the coronavirus, and 354 confirmed cases.
La Palma Correctional Facility, another private-owned jail contracted by ICE in Eloy, Arizona, saw 385 undocumented immigrants tested positive for the virus.
Inmates (photographed August 23, 2017) walk down a hallway at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego
The Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, Glades County Detention Center in Florida, and Joe Corley Detention Center each had one detainee die of the coronavirus.
'Like all agencies and institutions around the world, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has adapted in response to the unprecedented Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,' an ICE spokesperson said in a statement provided to DailyMail.com.
'Since March, ICE has temporarily reduced the population of all detention facilities to 75 percent capacity or less, and its detained population has dropped by more than 18,000, in an effort to minimize the spread of the virus within ICE detention facilities.'
The Stewart Detention Center, a private prison in Lumpkin, Georgia, contracted by ICE, was the worst hit with three migrant deaths related to the coronavirus during fiscal year 2020
Protesters gathered Monday outside Stewart Detention Center in support of undocumented immigrants held at the private jail, which is contracted by ICE
'We're seeing the pandemic is playing a role - but also the conditions of detention, and what it does both to your mental health and the really poor medical care that exists inside,' said Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network, to CNN.com.
'As we're looking at this death toll going up, what it tells us is ... it's a system that shouldn't exist. People should be with their loved ones, with their families, being able to social distance and quarantine at home going through their immigration proceedings.'
As of Sunday, ICE listed 19,791 people in detention.
DEATHS OF DETAINEES IN ICE CUSTODY FROM OCTOBER 1, 2019 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Nebane Abienwi, 37, Cameroon, October 1, 2019: Brain death
Roylan Hernández, 43, Cuba, October 15, 2019: Suicide
Anthony Akinyemi, 56, Nigeria, December 1, 2019: Suicide
Samuelino Mavinga, 40, France, December 29, 2019: Cardiac arrest
Ben Owens, 39, United Kingdom, January 25, 2020: Suicide
Alberto Hernández, 63, Cuba, January 27, 2020: Cardiac arrest
David Hernández, 34, Mexico, February 20, 2020: Suicide
María Ochoa, 22, Guatemala, March 8, 2020: Cardiac arrest
Orlan Carmaco, 27, Honduras, March 18, 2020: Suicide
Ramiro Hernández, 42, Mexico, March 21, 2020: Autopsy pending
Ernesto Escobar, 57, El Salvador, May 6, 2020: COVID-19
Choung Ahn, 74, South Korea, May 17, 2020: Suicide
Santiago Baten, 34, Guatemala, May 24, 2020: COVID-19
Onoval Perez, 51, Mexico, July 12, 2020: COVID-19
Luis Sánchez, 46, Guatemala, July 15, 2020: Cardiopulmonary arrest
James Hill: 72, Canada, August 5, 2020: COVID-19
Kuan Lee, 51, Taiwan, August 5, 2020: Hypertensive left thalamic hemorrhage
José Guillen, 70, Costa Rica, August 10, 2020: COVID-19
Fernando Sabonger, 50, Honduras, August 28, 2020: COVID-19
Romien Jally, 56, Marshall Islands, September 24, 2020: COVID-19
Cipriano Chávez, 61, Mexico, September 19, 2020: COVID-19