Georgia senators demand answers on more than a dozen deaths in immigration detention

Source: NPR

Updated September 23, 2025 9:00 PM ET


Georgia's Democratic senators are asking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to provide more information on recent deaths in immigration detention centers, including the conditions of detainees.

Since President Trump took office, 15 people have died in immigration detention, 10 of those deaths occurred between January and June, Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock wrote in a letter shared exclusively with NPR. The senators say that is the highest rate in the first six months of any year publicly available.

"Whatever our views on border enforcement, immigration enforcement, immigration policy, I think the overwhelming majority of the American people does not want detainees abused while they're in U.S. custody," Ossoff told NPR in an interview.

The Homeland Security Department is rushing to expand detention space and increase the rates of arrests after Congress provided billions of dollars in additional funding. Across the country, reports of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and issues with food and healthcare access have been the product of a focus to make more arrests.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/23/nx-s1-5549411/ossoff-warnock-noem-immigration-detention-death