June 26, 2025 — A recent investigation into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers reveals a deeply troubled system grappling with overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and life-threatening emergencies, including alleged sexual abuse.
Hundreds of 911 calls from the nation’s largest detention facilities, obtained through public records requests, paint a grim picture of a system stretched beyond its limits, where detainees face delays in treatment, insufficient resources, and, in some cases, outright neglect.
This report draws on verified data, firsthand accounts, and expert analysis to highlight the human toll of ICE’s detention practices and the urgent need for reform.
Since January 2025, ten of the largest ICE detention centers have collectively placed nearly 400 emergency 911 calls, according to records obtained by WIRED.
These calls document a range of critical incidents, including nearly 50 potential cardiac episodes, 26 seizures, 17 head injuries, seven suicide attempts or self-harm cases, and six allegations of sexual abuse, including one described as “staff on detainee.”
At least 60% of these facilities reported serious pregnancy complications, suicide attempts, or sexual assault allegations, underscoring the severity of the crisis.
One harrowing example comes from the Aurora ICE Processing Center near Denver.
On April 28, 2025, a nurse called 911 to report a four-month-pregnant woman experiencing bleeding and pain.
The nurse, audibly unprepared, admitted the facility lacked equipment to check for a fetal heartbeat, responding to the dispatcher’s questions with, “We don’t have the equipment to do that.”
This incident reflects a broader pattern of inadequate medical infrastructure in ICE facilities, where delays and under-resourced staff exacerbate life-threatening situations.
Similarly, at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, a detainee called 911 on March 16, 2025, pleading for help in broken English: “I need … ayuda.”
The call was abruptly disconnected, and a follow-up from the dispatcher revealed a staff member dismissing the incident, stating, “The detainee called 911, I’m sorry.”
No ambulance was dispatched, leaving the detainee’s fate unclear.
These cases highlight not only the frequency of emergencies but also the systemic barriers to addressing them.
Overcrowding and Privatization: A Recipe for Disaster
ICE’s goal of detaining 100,000 people simultaneously has pushed facilities to their breaking point.
Many detainees, including those with no criminal history, are held in overcrowded conditions, often in privately operated centers managed by companies like The GEO Group and CoreCivic.
These firms, which operate most of the facilities cited in this report, have secured no-bid contracts, reaping financial windfalls while conditions deteriorate.
The Glades County Detention Center in Florida, for instance, was paused by ICE in 2022 due to “persistent ongoing concerns related to the provision of detainee medical care.”
Yet, in April 2025, ICE reinstated its contract to “clear the backlog” of detainees, despite reports of beatings, withheld medications, and a near-fatal carbon monoxide leak in 2021.
Immigration attorney Katie Blankenship, who has represented detainees at Glades, described the facility as unchanged, stating, “I don’t have any reason to believe that there has been any correction or any adjustment.”
In California, a 2025 report by the state’s Department of Justice found that ICE facilities, including the GEO Group-operated Golden State Annex, failed to provide adequate mental health care, with gaps in suicide prevention and treatment.
The detainee population in California has surged to over 3,100, up from 1,750 in 2021, with 75% having no documented criminal history.
A Pattern of Neglect and Abuse
The 911 call data is only the tip of the iceberg.
Experts, including immigration attorneys and advocates, note that many incidents go unreported due to vague or withheld descriptions in official records.
At the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, at least six suicide attempts were documented between January and March 2024, with one nurse reporting a detainee’s repeated attempts within days.
Activists allege that The GEO Group attempts to handle emergencies “in-house” to conceal the frequency of such incidents.
Sexual abuse allegations further compound the crisis.
Between 2015 and 2021, Futuro Investigates documented 308 sexual assault and abuse complaints across ICE facilities, with over half directed at staff.
At the Stewart Detention Center, five women reported being assaulted by a male nurse during “medical exams,” highlighting a systemic pattern of abuse enabled by inadequate oversight.
The chaos within ICE facilities has led to desperate acts.
In March 2025, two detainees escaped the Aurora ICE Processing Center during a power outage that left exit doors unlocked, with ICE notifying local police hours after the incident.
In Newark, New Jersey, four detainees escaped the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in June 2025 amid reports of riots sparked by insufficient food, boiling water from pipes, and canceled visitation hours.
These incidents reflect growing unrest and deteriorating conditions.
Advocates and lawmakers are demanding action.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta emphasized the need for continued oversight, particularly as federal efforts to investigate detention conditions wane.
In Tacoma, Senator Patty Murray has called for an independent investigation into the Northwest ICE Processing Center.
Meanwhile, community protests, from Los Angeles to Newark, highlight public outrage over inhumane treatment.
The GEO Group and ICE have consistently denied allegations of systemic failure, with GEO claiming to provide “safe and humane” detention services.
However, the mounting evidence—911 call records, detainee testimonies, and independent reports—tells a different story.
The ICE detention system, driven by aggressive immigration enforcement and privatization, is failing those it holds.
From medical neglect to systemic abuse, the human cost is undeniable.
As the nation grapples with immigration policy, the voices of detainees, advocates, and experts call for transparency, accountability, and an end to practices that prioritize profit over human dignity.
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