More than 1,000 emergency calls from six major U.S. immigration detention centers over one year documented serious self-harm incidents, exposing what advocates describe as a systemic mental health crisis inside ICE facilities.
NBC News obtained call logs showing 28 cases involving severe self-harm, including detainees who swallowed razor blades, drank cleaning chemicals or cut their wrists. Five suicides have been reported in detention so far in 2026, the highest pace in two decades according to the review.
Logs from jurisdictions in California, Texas, Georgia, Michigan and Washington also recorded dozens of calls involving acute psychosis or altered mental states. One Michigan case described a man who refused psychiatric medication, stopped eating for eight days and collapsed in his cell.
Overall deaths in ICE custody tripled in 2025 compared with the prior year as detention populations doubled under expanded enforcement, ICE data cited by NBC indicated. Immigrant rights groups said understaffed medical units and prolonged detention contribute to deteriorating psychiatric conditions among detainees.
NBC News obtained emergency call logs from six jurisdictions housing 16 of the largest immigration detention centers after filing public records requests. Victor Manuel Diaz died by suicide at Camp East Montana in El Paso eight days after his January arrest in Minneapolis, according to ICE data. Advocates said undercounting is likely because many facilities did not release complete logs.
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Sources:
https://dailycuratednews.substack.com/p/news-headlines-may-22-2026