Mullin Defends ICE Death Reporting Rollback as 30-Day Post-Release Rule Is Scrapped
Updated
Updated · PBS NewsHour · Jun 25
Mullin Defends ICE Death Reporting Rollback as 30-Day Post-Release Rule Is Scrapped
3 articles · Updated · PBS NewsHour · Jun 25
Summary
House Democrats pressed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin over detainee deaths after ICE this month stopped reporting deaths that occur within 30 days of a detainee's release.
Underwood asked whether the death rate in ICE custody has doubled in Trump's second term and whether DHS would keep reporting deaths as required by law; Mullin replied that ICE reports deaths in custody but not after release.
The change rescinds a 2021 Biden-era policy requiring ICE to notify Congress and investigate post-release deaths, a safeguard meant to prevent the agency from evading accountability by releasing gravely ill detainees.
Past cases included detainees who were brain-dead or severely infected and died shortly after release, making the rollback a flashpoint in scrutiny of the administration's mass-detention practices.
Mullin also told lawmakers DHS had handled World Cup security without any serious incident so far, as the 48-team, 104-match tournament stretches across 16 North American cities.