ICE Detainee Brayan Rayo Garzon, 26, Died by Suicide After Ignored Pleas in Missouri Jail
Updated
Updated · The Independent · May 27
ICE Detainee Brayan Rayo Garzon, 26, Died by Suicide After Ignored Pleas in Missouri Jail
11 articles · Updated · The Independent · May 27
Brayan Rayo Garzon, a 26-year-old Colombian migrant, was found dead in April in an isolation cell at Missouri’s Phelps County Jail less than an hour after guards allegedly ignored his handwritten requests to call his mother.
Records reviewed by AP show Rayo waited 35 hours for required medical and mental-health screening, complained of anxiety and breathing trouble, then had two mental-health appointments canceled after contracting COVID-19 and being placed alone in quarantine.
The case is part of a broader surge: at least 10 ICE detainees have died by suicide since Trump returned to office in January 2025, already exceeding prior annual records and making suicides nearly one-fifth of all ICE custody deaths this year.
Investigators and public-health experts say the deaths reflect repeated failures across detention sites, including ignored warning signs, delayed treatment, inadequate suicide checks, language barriers and access to dangerous materials.
The spike has unfolded as the ICE detainee population has grown about 50% during Trump’s second term, with deaths reported in private detention centers, county jails and temporary migrant camps.
With detainee suicides at a record high, are ICE's own safety protocols being ignored in its rapidly expanding facilities?
Are billion-dollar AI contracts for tracking immigrants diverting funds from the mental healthcare needed to prevent deaths in detention?