1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to support a comprehensive investigation into conditions at Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities following the recent death of a Nicaraguan immigrant at a Texas detention facility. While federal officials initially reported that the individual died by suicide, the death has now been ruled a homicide. This stark contradiction raises urgent questions about what the facility is attempting to hide and demands immediate congressional action. The discrepancy between the facility's suicide claim and the official homicide ruling suggests either gross negligence in initial reporting or a deliberate attempt to conceal the true circumstances of this death. Either scenario is unacceptable and points to systemic failures in oversight, transparency, and accountability within ICE detention operations. When a facility misrepresents the cause of death in federal custody, it undermines public trust and suggests deeper problems with how these institutions operate beyond public scrutiny. This death is not an isolated incident. It represents a pattern of inadequate care and oversight in immigration detention that demands congressional scrutiny. Individuals held in ICE facilities are under the direct care and responsibility of the federal government, and we have a moral and legal obligation to ensure their safety while in custody. I am asking you to call for immediate investigations into this specific facility and broader reviews of ICE detention standards nationwide. These investigations must examine why the facility's account contradicted the official cause of death, what other incidents may have been misreported, and what systemic failures allowed this to occur. The findings should be made public and used to implement mandatory reforms across all ICE detention facilities. Congress has oversight authority over ICE operations and the responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are not funding facilities that conceal the truth about deaths in custody. I urge you to demand accountability, transparency, and immediate reforms to prevent future deaths and cover-ups in ICE detention.