The Trump Administration Does Not Want Americans to Know About Deaths After ICE Release

UPDATED August 13, 2026: Just days after we published this post, The New York Times reported that an immigrant named Jose Chajon-Raxon died shortly after being detained at New Jersey’s notorious Delaney Hall detention center. Originally from Guatemala, Mr. Chajon-Raxon reportedly had a seizure on July 19 while in detention and was taken to a local hospital.

DHS officials said he was released from ICE custody on July 22. DHS officials did not say why Mr. Chajon-Raxon was released from custody or disclose the date of his death. His was the third death of an immigrant detained at Delaney Hall and part of an ongoing pattern of ICE releasing immigrants from custody shortly before death.

Why ICE Stopped Reporting Deaths After Release From Custody

When a person dies in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency is required to notify the public and investigate what happened. Under the Biden Administration, this policy was expanded to include deaths that occurred shortly after a person was released from ICE custody, specifically to ensure the agency did not have an incentive to discharge seriously ill people.

Last month, the Trump Administration quietly undid this change, once again limiting the reporting requirement only to custodial deaths. This means that ICE can now release a dying person from custody and avoid having to report or investigate their death, a practice that critics of the agency have accused it of doing for years.

Deaths After ICE Release Show Why Reporting Matters

The fact that there have already been multiple instances of people dying shortly after being released from ICE custody underscores the need for public reporting and independent investigations of these deaths. Here are some of their stories:

• Johana Medina León

During the first Trump Administration, 25-year-old Johana Medina León, a transgender woman originally from El Salvador, was released from ICE custody as she lay dying in an El Paso hospital. According to reporting by the Los Angeles Times, Johana’s discharge was rushed through by an ICE official who wrote, “If this detainee were to become further seriously ill there is a potential for a poor outcome.” Four days later, on June 1, 2019, Johana died. Because she was no longer in custody when she passed away, Johana’s death was not among those publicly reported by ICE that year.

• Daphy Michel

31-year-old Daphy Michel, a woman originally from Haiti who was seeking asylum in the United States, died on March 2, 2026, three days after being released from ICE custody, according to CBS news. Daphy had significant mental health challenges and did not speak English fluently. Her attorney reported that the authorities “just dumped her in a bus shelter — language barrier, educational barrier, and psychiatric barrier — and left her to fend for herself. The bus shelter, she never figured out how to leave. She sat there for days, and ultimately froze to death.” Daphy’s cause of death was ruled “hypothermia, with homicide as the manner of death,” according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Pittsburgh homicide detectives are investigating.

• Nurul Amin Shah Alam

56-year-old Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Rohingya refugee with limited eyesight who did not read or speak English, was “[a]bandoned in the dark, rutted parking lot of a run-down strip mall . . . [in] the February weather of Western New York” by Border Patrol agents, The New York Times reported. The immigration officials did not inform his family of his release. His body was found five days later, on February 24, 2026. Like Daphy’s, Nurul’s death was ruled a homicide.

State Attorneys General Condemn ICE’s Reporting Rollback

Twenty-three state attorneys general have condemned ICE’s decision to stop reporting the deaths of people recently released from custody. As epidemiologist Dr. Sanjay Basu explained:

The period immediately following release is when deaths attributable to inadequate care during confinement become apparent. Missed diagnoses, interrupted medications, untreated infections, and decompensating chronic conditions don’t always kill someone while they’re still in the building.

Why Every Death After ICE Custody Should Be Investigated

ICE has proven time and again that it is failing its legal and ethical responsibility to care for the people in its custody. The American people deserve more transparency and accountability into what this agency is doing, not less. Every death of someone who has recently been in ICE custody needs to be reported and investigated.