Suicides Up In Immigration Detention Centers; Detainees Drinking Cleaning Chemicals, Slashing Wrists

In the last year, there have been over 1,000 emergency requests from six immigration detention centers, with 28 incidents of serious self-harm, according to a new report.

Citing detailed logs, NBC News reported that some of the self-harm incidents include a man swallowing a razor blade, detainees drinking cleaning chemicals, and people slashing their own wrists on at least three occasions.

The network noted that the reported incidents of self-harm are only a partial picture. Although the outlet requested information from the 16 largest immigration centers, only six provided the detailed logs.

The network reported that so far this year there have been five suicides in U.S. immigration detention facilities. By comparison, two people killed themselves over the previous four years.

“If you see a spike, it indicates there is a much larger group of people suffering mental health challenges,” Dr. Sanjay Basu, an epidemiologist and physician from the University of California, told the outlet.

The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on the idea that the number of suicides in facilities was on the rise, noting the larger detainee population.

“Consistent with data over the last decade, as of April 30, death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.009% of the detained population,” a spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News. “As bed space has rapidly expanded, we have maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens — including providing access to proper medical care. For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”

According to the American Immigration Council, when President Trump took office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) daily average of detainees was about 40,000 people. The council noted that in a year, the population increased by more than 75 percent, surpassing 70,000 people held earlier this year.

“With release on bond no longer an option for many people seeking relief, and deleterious conditions inside facilities, immigrants are increasingly giving up,” the organization stated.

According to Trac Reports, the detention population has started declining. According to Trac, by April 4, the detainee population was down to 60,311. Also, the number of people being booked into ICE detention fell from 39,694 in January to 32,531 in March.