New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez joined 22 other attorneys general urging ICE to restore investigations and public reporting for deaths that occur shortly after release from custody.

Organ Mountain News report

ALBUQUERQUE - New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez joined 22 other attorneys general in calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to reverse a policy ending investigations and public reporting of deaths that occur shortly after people are released from ICE custody.

The coalition sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella, urging the agency to rescind the policy and restore prior reporting standards.

“ICE’s new policy change moves our system backward at a time when transparency and accountability are urgently needed,” Torrez said. “When individuals die shortly after detention, often following documented delays in medical care, those cases must be examined thoroughly. Ending these reviews creates a dangerous loophole that undermines public trust and could incentivize the release of critically ill detainees to avoid scrutiny. No agency tasked with detaining human beings should be permitted to shield itself from oversight, especially when lives are at stake.”

The attorneys general said ICE previously could review deaths that occurred within 30 days of a person’s release from custody. The coalition said the new policy ends investigations and reporting for deaths that occur shortly after release, even when the death may be connected to detention conditions or medical care received in custody.

The coalition said ICE is required to follow detention standards that include initial health screenings, necessary medical and mental health care and safe and sanitary conditions. The attorneys general said ending post-release reviews reduces accountability for detention facilities and could jeopardize the safety of people in custody.

In the letter, the coalition warned that the policy could create an incentive for facilities to release critically ill or mistreated detainees shortly before death to avoid scrutiny tied to an in-custody death.

The attorneys general also pointed to rising deaths in ICE custody and reports of unsafe conditions in detention facilities. The coalition said there have been 51 detainee deaths in ICE custody since January 2025, compared with 19 in the two years before.

The letter cites the death of Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old man who died in ICE custody from septic shock caused by an untreated abscess after his request for medical treatment was ignored.

The coalition said more than half of deaths since 2025 occurred in nine of the more than 220 immigration detention facilities across the country, and that ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight cited five of those nine facilities for deficient medical care.

The attorneys general also said the policy change comes as ICE and private contractors have blocked access to detention facilities for some public health officials and congressional representatives conducting inspections.

“Adequate transparency is critical if ICE is to be accountable to the people,” the attorneys general wrote. “We urge ICE to reverse course on this new policy and to ensure that individuals detained in its custody receive adequate care and protection from harm.”

The letter was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James. In addition to Torrez, the coalition includes attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

DOWNLOAD OR READ THE FULL LETTER HERE: