Nine immigrants died in custody in the US since Trump’s inauguration

On Wednesday, during a session of the Congress Representatives Budget Committee, Lyons said Ice “prioritizes the worst of the worst,” but the Democrats put it in doubt.

“What we have seen under the Trump administration should cause chills (…) in all Americans” because “it is not focusing on the worst, as it states,” protested congressman Veronica Escobar.

According to her, the government focuses on immigrants who “mostly represent absolutely no threat to the public, students with ‘Green Cards’ (permission of residence) and visas” and people “with legal status, without criminal record.”

“This is the kind of worrying pattern we see in the authoritarian police, not in a democratic republic,” Escobar said.

His democratic colleague, Lauren Underwood, asked Lyons how many people died in the custody of his agency.

“The total of deaths in custody reaches nine,” replied the interim director, ensuring that Ice acts with “transparency”.