Washington, May 11 (RHC)-- The hardline immigration policy reinstated by the Donald Trump administration is beginning to show dramatic consequences. According to a CNN report, at least seven undocumented migrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) so far in fiscal year 2025, an increase that fuels concerns about the treatment of detained migrants.
The number of deaths, while representing less than 1% of the total number of people detained by ICE, exceeds the average recorded in the first years of Joe Biden's administration. According to data cited by CNN:
2021: 5 deaths
2022: 3 deaths
2023: 4 deaths
2024: 12 deaths
The current figure for 2025 -- still not yet the end of the fiscal year -- already equals the total recorded in Biden's entire last year, when 12 people died among nearly 38,000 detainees.
Since returning to power, Trump has intensified restrictive measures against the migrant population. ICE has detained more than 66,000 people without legal status and deported more than 65,000, according to official figures as of April 29.
Among the most controversial policies is the offer of a $1,000 payment to undocumented immigrants to encourage "self-deportation," which has been described by human rights organizations as a form of covert coercion that ignores the principle of non-refoulement and asylum guarantees.
Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked the immigration permits of nearly one million people who had entered through the CPB One application, launched during the Biden administration as an attempt to orderly manage the migratory flow.
Pressure on the southern border has also escalated. General Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Armed Forces Northern Command, confirmed that the presence of troops on the border with Mexico will continue for at least two more years, an indication of the security and containment vision that the Trump administration is imposing.
Various organizations have warned of human rights violations, medical negligence, and inadequate conditions in immigration detention centers, factors that could be linked to the increase in deaths in custody.
“The use of detention as a deterrent is unacceptable. The lives and dignity of migrants must be protected, not sacrificed for the sake of arbitrary control,” denounced a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
At the same time, the U.S. government faces domestic and international pressure to review its immigration policy, given a region marked by humanitarian crises, structural violence, and forced displacement in countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Honduras, and Guatemala.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
