Virginia Joins Multistate Push Against ICE Rollback on Detainee Death Reporting

Virginia is joining a 22-state effort led by New York Attorney General Letitia James urging President Donald Trump’s administration to reverse a new federal policy ending investigations and public reporting of deaths that occur shortly after immigrants are released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

The change rescinds a 2021 Biden administration policy that required ICE to notify Congress and investigate when detainees had died within 30 days of being released from custody.

Attorney General Jay Jones announced Monday that Virginia had joined the coalition calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs Enforcement to restore the previous reporting standards. The attorneys general argue the policy change weakens public oversight as concerns about conditions inside immigration detention facilities grow.

The coalition sent a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director David Venturella criticizing the policy shift and warning it could allow detention facilities to avoid scrutiny when critically ill detainees die soon after their release.

“This new policy is a blatant attempt to hide dangerous conditions inside ICE detention centers from the public,” James said in a statement announcing the effort.

“ICE must ensure that every person in its custody receives basic medical care, safe conditions, and humane treatment. Instead, this administration is trying to evade accountability and operate in darkness as deaths in ICE custody reach historic levels.”

Virginia is home to multiple ICE detention centers, including the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green and the Farmville Detention Center, as immigration enforcement activity has surged nationwide.

Recent federal data and independent analyses estimate ICE is currently detaining tens of thousands of people across the country — among the highest totals in the agency’s history — amid mounting concerns over medical care and detention conditions.

Jones said Monday that the rollback undermines oversight systems intended to protect detainees and hold detention facilities accountable.

“With the disturbing rise in reports of abuse and death in ICE detention facilities in recent months, transparency is more important now than ever. This change in policy is an abhorrent attempt by ICE and the DHS to sidestep responsibility for their dangerous actions, and we won’t allow it,” Jones said in a statement.

Under the prior policy, ICE officials could request reviews and publicly release findings when former detainees died shortly after release, particularly in cases involving allegations of inadequate medical treatment or neglect.

The attorneys general argue that the recent change creates an incentive for detention facilities to release seriously ill detainees shortly before death, potentially avoiding the scrutiny that follows deaths occurring inside custody.

In Monday’s letter, the coalition said the revised policy “reduces the federal government’s accountability for conditions in ICE facilities” and weakens oversight intended to ensure adequate medical care inside detention centers.

But DHS officials have defended the change, arguing ICE is no longer responsible for individuals once they are released from custody and described the rollback as an administrative matter and a “common sense” change.

“Under this updated policy, when an individual is no longer in ICE custody, then ICE will no longer be responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths that may occur,” the statement said.

ICE does not appear to have maintained a public nationwide tally of deaths occurring after detainees are released from custody, a gap advocates say will widen further under the agency’s new reporting policy.

Human Rights Watch reported 52 deaths that occurred while individuals were in ICE custody between Jan. 20, 2025 and June 25, 2026, while the health policy organization KFF identified 46 deaths in or connected to ICE detention as of March 18, 2026.

ICE continues publishing reports on in-custody detainee deaths.

The coalition’s letter references the case of Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a former Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipient who died after being transferred from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California to a hospital suffering from septic shock linked to an untreated abscess and other complications.

According to media reports, Ayala-Uribe repeatedly complained about worsening symptoms while detained. Relatives and immigration advocates accused the facility of failing to provide timely medical care before his condition became critical.

Federal detention standards require immigration facilities to conduct health screenings, provide medical and mental healthcare, maintain sanitary conditions and protect detainees from unnecessary force.

Democratic attorneys general and immigration advocates have argued that oversight has weakened amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown and expansion of detention operations.

Joining New York and Virginia in signing Monday’s letter were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the coalition’s demand.

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

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