Immigration Detainees Allege Widespread Medical Neglect in Federal Lawsuits Across 33 States

An investigation by KFF Health News and The Associated Press has uncovered hundreds of federal lawsuits filed by immigration detainees across at least 33 states, alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities are failing to provide adequate medical care.

Detainees report being denied medications for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and HIV, with requests for help often going unanswered for weeks. Some detainees have collapsed or suffered seizures due to lack of treatment.

The surge in detentions since President Donald Trump returned to office has overwhelmed the system, with over 75,000 immigrants detained as of mid-January, up from around 40,000 a year earlier. The investigation analyzed thousands of habeas corpus petitions filed since Trump’s second inauguration, which argue that detainees are being held illegally due to medical neglect.

Reporters also interviewed more than 50 detainees, family members, and lawyers. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported 51 deaths in detention since the start of Trump’s second term, with suicides reaching an unprecedented number.

DHS did not respond to requests for comment on the findings. Individual facilities and private prison companies, including CoreCivic and Geo Group, said they follow ICE standards and provide medical care when required, with some blaming detainees for lapses.

A federal judge in Ohio, Benita Pearson, noted during a hearing that basic needs like providing glasses to a detainee who lost them during arrest should be addressed. Advocates say even obvious disabilities, such as legal blindness, are ignored.

One detainee with severe glaucoma said he sometimes missed his twice-daily eye drops, fearing he would lose his sight entirely. Another detainee from Guatemala said he narrowly avoided amputation of his leg after an infection went untreated.

The investigation found that medical neglect is alleged across the detention system, including in county jails and quickly staged sites. DHS’s acting chief medical officer, Sean Conley, previously stated that detainees receive timely and appropriate care, calling it better than what many have received in their lives.

However, detainees and their lawyers say court orders are sometimes ignored, and transfers between facilities interrupt treatment. The surge in habeas corpus petitions has been fueled by decisions to deny bond to many detainees, with the legality of those decisions headed to the Supreme Court.

Many petitions are successful, but judges often cite reasons unrelated to medical neglect. The details of many cases remain hidden due to a federal rule barring public access to such documents online.