People with disabilities held without a bed, sleep, or basic hygiene
Documented stories describe people with disabilities and chronic medical needs held in ICE and Border Patrol custody in facilities including Krome, Eloy, Dilley, and a Havre, Montana site, without beds, showers, or necessary medications such as insulin, inhalers, or hormone therapy, with some hospitalized or dying in custody. First documented in February 2025, the pattern became recurring by July 2025, though it now makes up a smaller share of recent reported cases than earlier.
First documented Feb 2025, recurring since Jul 2025. Shrinking as a share of recent stories.
Share of each month's well-documented stories, Jan 2025 to Oct 2026. Volume is not shown: coverage grew over the record, shares did not have to.
12 stories in 5 states. What accompanies this practice →
“All she kept asking me was, ’Why can’t we go home?’ And I said, well, based on the fact that we’re Canadian, this is what the government has decided that they are going to do with people like us that are living in the United States. So, we have to stay here until Papa and our lawyer can get us out. That’s all I could tell her. I had no idea what else to say.”
Arizona
Karla S.: Trans organizer detained by ICE denied hormone therapy, medical neglectKarla Sáenz, a 26-year-old transgender organizer from Venezuela, was held a month in a men's unit at Eloy Detention Center, denied hormone therapy and showers. A judge ordered her release in April.Phoenix, AZ · Apr 22, 2026 · Copper Courier, LGBTQ Nation, Lookout News +3
Patience G.: Mother of U.S. citizen daughter lured to airport gate, held by ICEPatience Gore, a Zimbabwean mother married to a U.S. citizen, was seized at a United Airlines gate after 24 years in the U.S. and held nearly two weeks, disrupting an IVF cycle; a judge ordered her freed.Phoenix, AZ · Mar 27, 2026 · Aviation A2Z, View from the Wing, Inside Flyer +2
California
George R.: Disabled Army veteran held three days by ICE despite citizenship proofGeorge Retes, a disabled Army veteran and security guard, was pepper-sprayed, tackled and held for three days despite proving his citizenship, missing his daughter's third birthday.Camarillo, CA · Feb 24, 2026 · Scripps News, Military Times, The Atlantic +7- Will K.: Ph.D. candidate held over a week at airport by CBPTae Heung "Will" Kim, 40, a Texas A&M Ph.D. candidate studying infectious disease, was held at San Francisco Airport for over a week without a lawyer after returning from his brother's wedding. He now faces a September 4 deportation hearing.San Francisco, CA · Jul 21, 2025 · Korean Quarterly, Seattle Times, Law & Crime
Rami O.: Doctor's husband with brain tumor held 13 days at L.A. ICE facilityRami Othmane, 36, married to a hospital chief medical officer, was held 13 days in a downtown L.A. ICE facility despite a brain tumor, then transferred to Arizona before release on bail.Los Angeles, CA · Jul 13, 2025 · Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Billboard +2
Florida
Detainees at three Florida immigration centers denied insulin and inhalersA Human Rights Watch report found detainees at three Florida facilities denied insulin and inhalers, forced to sleep on concrete floors, and facing excessive force; substandard care was linked to two deaths.Miami, FL · Jul 21, 2025 · Human Rights Watch, ACLU Florida, Amnesty USA +2- Harpinder C.: British entrepreneur on valid visa hospitalized after ICE denied him insulinHarpinder Singh Chauhan, a 56-year-old British entrepreneur and father of two on a valid visa, had his insulin and inhaler confiscated in detention and collapsed in April with cardiac symptoms before being deported to the UK in June.Florida, FL · Feb 11, 2025 · Human Rights Watch, Economic Times, HuffPost
Women held by ICE at male-only Krome facility denied care, three hospitalizedWomen held at the male-only Krome facility were crammed into a cell with one exposed toilet and denied showers and medications, with three requiring hospitalization before receiving care.Miami, FL · February 2025 · Human Rights Watch
Montana
Texas
Tania W. and Ayla L.: Canadian mother and autistic daughter held three weeks after Border Patrol stopTania Warner, a 47-year-old Canadian with a valid U.S. work visa, and her autistic 7-year-old daughter were held three weeks at a Texas checkpoint, reporting abuse and chemical burns, before Warner's release on $9,500 bond.“All she kept asking me was, ’Why can’t we go home?’ And I said, well, based on the fact that we’re Canadian, this is what the government has decided that they are going to do with people like us that are living in the United States. So, we have to stay here until Papa and our lawyer can get us out. That’s all I could tell her. I had no idea what else to say.” — Tania WarnerSarita, TX · Apr 12, 2026 · The Link, The Globe and Mail, CBC +6
At least seven children died in or after ICE custody, pediatrician saysChildren at the Dilley detention center have faced poor medical care and overcrowding, with a pediatrician reporting at least seven deaths, including a 5-year-old found with a cord around his neck.Dilley, TX · Feb 8, 2026 · Associated Press, SA Current, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee +2
