Nine individuals have passed away in the

custody

of the

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Since President Donald Trump assumed office, Acting Director Todd Lyons testified on Wednesday, with Democratic lawmakers intensely questioning the official over the

Trump administration

‘ intentions to significantly boost its financial support.

We thoroughly investigate each one of those,” Lyons stated, additionally saying, “As I mentioned before, ICE is committed to being transparent.

The remarks were made when Democrats from the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Homeland Security questioned Lyons about the state of ICE detention facilities. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas, described these conditions as “deplorable” and “akin to human rights violations.”

“What we have witnessed under the Trump administration ought to make every American shudder,” Escobar stated at the hearing.

The agency has only

publicly disclosed information

In seven fatalities recorded for this fiscal year on their page monitoring detainee deaths, the latest occurred on April 8 with the passing of Brayan Rayo-Garzon, a man from Colombia as reported.

died by suicide

, after a scheduled mental health evaluation was delayed multiple times.

The fatalities occurring during detention, which Democrats criticized ICE for reporting tardily, are swiftly approaching the highest yearly total since President Joe Biden took office. According to reports, 12 individuals have died in detention during the fiscal year 2024.

analysis from Prism Reports

.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Escobar said ICE was slated for a 365 percent increase in detention spending as part of the

The Trump administration’s significant budget initiative

to increase Homeland Security spending

by $43.8 billion

.

The Texas Democrat argued the increased spending on detention wasn’t delivering better results for detainees, but rather private detention companies, who maintain

large parts of the ICE detention network

.

“The increase in costs to taxpayers obviously hasn’t translated into an increase in humane conditions, but I bet it has meant an increase in profits for these private companies,” she said. “That’s what American tax dollars have been funding.”

Lyons responded that ICE favors collaborating with establishments managed by local governmental bodies; however, Democratic-led “sanctuary” regions that do not assist ICE force the organization to hold individuals in privately operated centers far from their home communities.

As part of the Trump administration’s goal of rapidly deporting over a million people, ICE is reportedly holding 52,000 people in detention, nearly 10,000 more than the agency is budgeted for,

according to
USA Today

.

Lyons testified on Wednesday that the agency’s detention capacity could grow to as high as 100,000 beds with additional funding.

In March, ICE

reportedly

told Congress it was already short $2 billion to maintain its operations through the end of this fiscal year, which ends in September, though Lyons said on Wednesday the agency is operating “within our means.”

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