Brayan Rayo Garzon felt a deep sense of distress. Detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), he faced his fourth day in isolation in a Missouri jail, battling fevers and chills caused by COVID-19. His request for mental health treatment had been postponed, records indicate, and staff had prohibited him from making his nightly call to his mother to prevent the spread of the virus.
He pleaded with jail officials through handwritten notes to organize a call with her. ‘I feel in my heart that she is very worried about me,’ he wrote. A guard took the note and walked away. Within an hour, jail records show, they found him unconscious in his cell. An autopsy confirmed he had taken his own life.
Rayo’s death in April 2025 marked the first in a surge of suicides among ICE detainees, alarming public health authorities and jail experts. The unprecedented number of suicides suggests inadequate supervision of tens of thousands of immigrants caught in the aggressive deportation strategy of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Associated Press found at least 10 detainees, all men, died by suicide since Trump took office in January 2025, a rate significantly outpacing the growth of the detained population, based on ICE data, autopsy reports, medical examiner findings, and police records. Since October, seven deaths have been classified as suicides, the highest number for any fiscal year in the agency’s history. Typically, ICE reports zero or one such death annually.
‘Something is profoundly wrong from any public health or mental health perspective,’ stated Dr. Sanjay Basu, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-author of a study documenting increased mortality and suicide rates among ICE detainees. ‘This is one of those sudden and alarming increases.’
Editor’s Note: This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the U.S. National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Line is available by phone or text at 988.
Nine of the victims were Hispanic men who had come to the U.S. from four countries, according to AP findings. One man was a Chinese citizen. They averaged 32 years old. Though Trump labeled deportees as ‘the worst of the worst,’ seven of the ten hadn’t been charged with violent crimes in the U.S.
Suicides accounted for nearly a fifth of the 51 in-custody deaths under ICE since January 2025. The majority were due to natural causes, and experts suggest timely medical care could have prevented many. Lauren Bis, the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, noted suicides in ICE custody remain ‘extremely rare.’ She stated that detention staff follow protocols to protect detainees showing signs of self-harm and ICE requires annual suicide prevention training. She added that detainees receive comprehensive medical care, including mental health services.
Reacting to the AP investigation, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for the country’s foreign ministry to issue a formal protest over Rayo’s death and urged the U.S. government to reconsider its immigration policies, which he said endanger both Americans and Latin Americans.
ICE faces accusations of violating its detention standards. Experts say the reasons behind any suicide are complex, typically involving multiple contributing factors. ICE detainees report intense stress post-arrest, fear of being sent back to dangerous countries, and frustration and loneliness due to language barriers.
Detainees may also feel helpless amid the complexities of immigration law. Unlike those in the criminal justice system, most detainees lack legal representation, and their detention for immigration violations is not intended as punishment.
Once detained, ICE is accountable for their wellbeing, and experts argue well-managed detention centers should have few or no suicides because staff can take measures to mitigate self-harm risks by identifying at-risk individuals, providing care, and maintaining close surveillance. AP’s investigation found ICE’s detention centers fall short of these expectations, violating the agency’s own standards in multiple ways.
In reviewing the ten suicides, it was revealed the men died across ICE’s detention network, including centers long run by private contractors and county jails that recently partnered with the agency. The AP found facility staff ignored distress indications, delayed mental health treatment, and failed to monitor at-risk detainees. Facilities also allowed access to materials that could be used for self-harm, according to the ICE inspection reports and death records reviewed by the AP.
In some cases, distressed detainees were placed in isolation, exacerbating feelings of humiliation and helplessness, experts note. ICE claims it assesses detainees within 12 hours of arrival for medical, dental, and mental health conditions.
At least three of the nine facilities where ICE detainees died by suicide struggled to meet that standard, inspection reports, and jail records show.
Dr. Homer Venters, a former chief medical officer of New York City jails who advised ICE on preventing detainee deaths, described the rising suicide rate as terrifying. The increase ‘reflects systemic failures, particularly during initial intake stages, where individuals are inadequately evaluated,’ he observed. ‘Even if initial assessments identify warning signs, necessary actions to reduce preventable death risks are missing.’
Border crossings to detention: Among those who took their lives was a 19-year-old Mexican stopped for a minor traffic violation while riding a scooter. Another was a 36-year-old restaurant worker who lost contact with family in Nicaragua after being detained by ICE in Minnesota before being sent to an overcrowded Texas camp. A third was a 45-year-old man who repeatedly crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally and had a lengthy criminal history.
Rayo, who committed suicide after pleading to speak with his mother, was a Colombian Army veteran who worked as a street vendor. A week after his 26th birthday in 2023, his family crossed into the U.S. in California. He was detained for three months before reuniting with relatives in St. Louis, records and interviews show.
His mother, Adriana Garzon, stated Rayo adapted quickly to life in the U.S., easily made friends, and worked as a house painter and food delivery driver. He aimed to save money to hire an attorney to help him stay in the country after a judge ordered his deportation back to Colombia in 2024.
He was arrested in March 2025 by St. Louis police after being caught using a stolen credit card, acquired from a friend, at a vape shop, according to court records. ICE subsequently took him into their custody. Agency records obtained by the AP classified Rayo as a low-risk manual laborer.
ICE placed Rayo in Phelps County Jail in Rolla, Missouri, about 100 miles from St. Louis. The suicides exposed systemic flaws across ICE’s detention network, which saw detainee numbers soar 50% to 60,000 during Trump’s second term.
Five people died in centers run by CoreCivic and GEO Group, longtime ICE detention partners. A sixth person died in a camp operated by an inexperienced contractor later replaced by ICE. Three died in county jails managed by sheriffs, and one at a federal prison.
‘We are deeply saddened and take any death in our care seriously,’ said CoreCivic spokesperson Brian Todd. GEO Group spokesperson Christopher Ferreira noted the company’s training in suicide prevention and aim to ‘maintain a safe and secure environment in compliance with federal standards and requirements.’ Officials from the three jails declined to comment or did not respond to messages.
Leo Cruz Silva, a 34-year-old man who entered the country illegally from Mexico multiple times, suffered a severe mental health crisis following detention for public intoxication last fall in a St. Louis suburb, records show.
Over two nights in the Ste. Genevieve County Jail in Missouri, Cruz screamed, hid under his bed, and reported hallucinations, an ICE report on his death states. Yet, he did not receive prompt help.
A nurse ordered antipsychotic medication and planned treatment for the following week, the ICE report indicates. By the third day, he was found dead in his cell.
Chaofeng Ge entered ICE custody in mental distress last summer at a Pennsylvania facility managed by GEO Group. After pleading guilty to minor gift card fraud and attempting suicide under state custody, said David Rankin, an attorney representing Ge’s family. Although Ge received no mental health treatment or could communicate with staff since no one spoke Mandarin during his five-day stay, Rankin stated. Ge was ultimately found hanging in a shower stall, having been left unsupervised.
‘It’s clear ICE has taken very few steps to ensure these individuals’ safety,’ expressed the attorney. ‘They seem to want to make this process as cruel and inhumane as possible. It’s completely unacceptable.’
At Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, Victor Diaz, 36, died by suicide in a medical holding area in January, according to an ICE report. He was moved to isolation after reporting harassment by other detainees, the report noted.
Days earlier, in the same facility, Geraldo Lunas Campos died from asphyxiation after guards restrained him following a suicide attempt, ICE said. A medical examiner classified his death as a homicide, and Trump administration officials stated the FBI is investigating the circumstances.
ICE inspectors visited the facility in February and documented 49 detention standard violations in what was then the agency’s largest detention facility for that purpose, their report indicated.
The report found staff failed to record ‘required checks to prevent significant self-harm and suicide,’ while inspectors discovered unsecured and uncontrolled tools and equipment throughout the facility that could cause harm. Calls to 911 revealed several other detainees had attempted suicide there.
When these deaths and inspections occurred, Acquisition Logistics operated the facility as the contractor. ICE has since replaced the company with another contractor. Acquisition Logistics did not respond to messages requesting comment.
Detained person’s final days spent ill and isolated: Phelps County Jail had begun receiving ICE detainees a month before Rayo’s arrival. Sheriff Michael Kirn, a Republican in a county where voters overwhelmingly supported Trump’s re-election, informed commissioners that his department’s budget was strained and partnering with ICE could generate millions in revenue.
Records show Rayo’s issues began immediately. The jail took 35 hours to conduct the medical assessment that ICE promises within 12 hours, state highway patrol records obtained by the AP under public records law indicate.
Rayo experienced breathing difficulties and informed a nurse of anxiety and a desire for mental health treatment. A Spanish-speaking nurse evaluated Rayo using a ‘handheld translator,’ concluding he denied suicidal thoughts and depression, state highway patrol records detail.
Rayo was recommended to join the general population, deemed stable in physical and mental condition, records say. He was scheduled for a routine mental health appointment.
Two days later, he reported headaches and body aches. Staff learned he had tested positive for tuberculosis exposure. Sent to a hospital, Rayo was diagnosed with COVID-19. He returned to jail the following day.
The mental health appointment was scheduled but canceled due to ‘mental health clinic time and staff availability,’ jail records show. Two days later, the appointment was canceled again, citing his coronavirus infection.
The delays breached an ICE standard requiring mental health treatment within a week of referral.
Bis, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, asserted Rayo received ‘high-quality medical care during his time in ICE custody.’
For comfort, Rayo called his mother before sleep for a Catholic blessing. The mother, whose name Adriana was tattooed on her son’s arm, said it gave him strength. As Rayo’s condition worsened with nausea, chills, and aches, staff moved him to an isolated cell with a ceiling surveillance camera to monitor him closely and prevent infection spread. He wasn’t allowed to call his mother.
On his fourth day in isolation, Rayo slipped two notes under the door, pleading with guards to let him talk to his mom. In one note, reviewed by the AP, he appealed to the guard’s humanity, saying, ‘I know you have a family and know they care about us,’ he wrote. ‘God bless you.’
The officer, who spoke English, used a colleague’s phone to translate his notes and planned to follow up, he later reported.
Within an hour, guards found Rayo unconscious on his bed with a sheet around his neck. Emergency services attempted to revive him and took him to a hospital.
The same day, an official contacted Rayo’s mother to inform her that her son was in critical condition and would be flown to a St. Louis medical center. Later, a doctor delivered the devastating news at the hospital: her son had died.
This article was translated into English by an AP editor with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence.
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