Latest ICE Detainee Death Exploited By Anti-Detention Crowd Raises Questions For ICE And Activists

The anti-ICE crowd complaining about the death of Daniel is not asking for any of this, despite the fact that it might have prevented the death of Daniel's victim and, in the logic of the anti-ICE activists, Daniel's own death in an ICE detention facility.

In March 2020, amid the outbreak of the pandemic, Daniel was transferred to ICE custody at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, after having served most of his prison sentence.

Media and activists troubled by Daniel's long detention that lasted from his book-in to his recent death should be asking the following question: What efforts was ICE making for removal, and was Trinidad and Tobago being cooperative? For many reasons, it's ideal for detention to be as short-term as possible, and illegal aliens should be quickly returned home.

Daniel reported hearing voices with visual hallucinations, and had delusions of "Being electronically harassed, and people putting spirits on him" according to ICE's detainee death report.

A central complaint being made by activists is that Daniel was in segregation housing for most of his time in ICE detention.

Another question for the anti-detention crowd that the media didn't ask: Do they believe that ICE should refuse a detainee's request for segregation housing? Do they believe a mentally unsound individual should not be separated from other detainees? What about the safety of other detainees? It may be that Daniel was rational enough to understand that he was a threat to other detainees and considered this to be a way to protect others.

Some questions for ICE that media should be asking: Though removal was likely difficult during the first year of the pandemic, why did the Biden administration continue to detain Daniel for years? Was Daniel actively fighting his removal? Were immigration attorneys encouraging him to remain in detention instead of returning home? If so, who are the attorneys and do they have some responsibility here? It seems the media should seek a quote from them if immigration attorneys are involved. 

https://cis.org/Feere/Latest-ICE-Detainee-Death-Exploited-AntiDetention-Crowd-Raises-Questions-ICE-and-Activists