1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I write with urgency and profound alarm regarding the escalating number of deaths occurring in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The most recent and deeply disturbing case—the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos—must be treated as a turning point that compels immediate and decisive Congressional action. On January 3, 2026, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant and father, died while detained at the Camp East Montana Detention Facility in El Paso, Texas. ICE initially claimed his death resulted from an “attempted suicide.” However, the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled the death a homicide caused by asphyxia due to compression of the neck and torso. Witness accounts report that multiple guards restrained Mr. Campos and applied pressure to his neck and back until he became unresponsive. These facts raise deeply troubling questions about the use of force, the treatment of detainees, and the accuracy and transparency of federal reporting. This tragedy is not an isolated incident. A growing list of individuals has died in ICE custody in 2026 alone: • Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55 (Cuba), Camp East Montana Detention Facility — death ruled homicide. • Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, 42 (Honduras), Joe Corley Processing Center in Conroe, Texas. • Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, 68 (Honduras), Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California. • Parady La, 46 (Cambodia), Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia; family alleges medical neglect. • Heber Sánchez Domínguez, 34 (Mexico), Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy, Georgia. • Victor Manuel Díaz, 36 (Nicaragua), Camp East Montana Detention Facility; circumstances disputed. • Lorth Sim, 59 (Cambodian refugee), Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana; found unresponsive in his cell. • Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, 27 (Guatemala), collapsed while in custody and later died at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami, Florida. These are only the deaths that have been publicly disclosed. There are serious concerns that additional fatalities have occurred but have not been reported in a timely or transparent manner. Available data already indicate that deaths in immigration detention rose sharply in 2025, and early figures from 2026 suggest the crisis is accelerating. Every person held by the federal government—regardless of immigration status—is in the care and custody of the United States. When individuals die while under that custody, the federal government bears direct responsibility to explain how and why it happened. Congress cannot ignore this pattern of preventable deaths. I therefore call on Congress to take the following immediate actions: 1. Launch a comprehensive, independent investigation into every death in ICE custody in 2026, including the circumstances surrounding use of force, medical care, mental health services, and supervision policies. 2. Hold public Congressional hearings requiring testimony from detainee families, whistleblowers, detention staff, medical professionals, and oversight officials to identify systemic failures within ICE detention operations. 3. Mandate full transparency from the Department of Homeland Security (United States Department of Homeland Security, including immediate public disclosure of all detention deaths, complete autopsy reports, and internal investigative findings. 4. Condition ICE and DHS funding on enforceable standards for detainee safety, medical care, restraint policies, and facility oversight, with real consequences—including contract termination—when violations occur. 5. Establish independent oversight mechanisms, such as civilian review boards or empowered inspectors general with subpoena authority to investigate abuse, negligence, and misconduct in immigration detention facilities. These deaths represent fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and members of families who entrusted the United States government with their safety once they were taken into federal custody. Silence, delayed reporting, and bureaucratic deflection are unacceptable responses to the loss of human life. Congress has both a constitutional and moral obligation to ensure that government authority is never exercised without accountability. The rule of law requires transparency, oversight, and justice—especially when lives are lost under federal control. The American people deserve answers. The families of the deceased deserve the truth. And the victims deserve accountability.