Death, disappearance, neglect escalate in U.S. Immigrant detention camps

As immigration arrests rise, conditions in U.S. detention centers have reached their most dangerous point in recent history.

This year so far, 19 immigrants have died in detention — 10 between January and June. At the Everglades facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” advocates say more than 1,200 detainees are missing, with families and lawyers unable to locate them.

Of a record 59,762 people held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention as of September 21, 42,755 or about 71% have no criminal conviction, according to TRAC .

‘Cruelty is the point’

“I’ve talked to hundreds of detained asylum seekers, and I was frequently struck by how they’re treated like incarcerated criminals, despite many having no criminal record,” said Heather Hogan, policy and practice counsel at