1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand immediate action to address the healthcare crisis in ICE detention facilities caused by the agency's failure to pay medical providers since October 3, 2025. This is not a policy disagreement but a matter of legal obligation and basic human decency. When the Department of Veterans Affairs terminated its agreement with ICE on October 3, 2025, following a lawsuit filed by the Center to Advance Security in America on September 30, 2025, ICE lost its ability to reimburse third-party medical providers for detainee care. ICE itself described this as an "absolute emergency" requiring immediate resolution to "prevent any further medical complications or loss of life." Yet the agency has announced it will not process medical claims until at least April 30, 2026, with payments potentially delayed until May 30. The consequences are catastrophic. Internal administration data shows that in 2024, the VA processed $246.42 million in medical claims for ICE detainees. In 2025, despite an 82.5 percent increase in the daily detained population from below 40,000 in January to over 73,000 currently, only $157.2 million in claims were processed. This represents nearly a $300 million gap between needed care and what ICE has paid, meaning detainees are being denied dialysis, prenatal care, oncology, and chemotherapy. Viera Reyes, detained at California City Detention Facility, has symptoms and test results suggesting prostate cancer but cannot obtain a biopsy despite excruciating pain. All requests to see a urologist have been ignored. Senator Jon Ossoff identified 85 credible reports of medical neglect among ICE detainees between January 20 and August 5, 2025, including a heart attack after days of untreated chest pain and complications from untreated diabetes. Federal law requires ICE to provide necessary medical care to detainees. Secretary Noem must be held accountable for this failure. I urge you to demand that ICE immediately establish an emergency payment mechanism, pay outstanding medical bills, and ensure no detainee is denied medically necessary care.