Silence has long shrouded the men and women who die in US immigration jails. For years, they went uncounted and unnamed in the public record. Few facts were available about who these people were and how they died. Behind the scenes, the deaths generated thousands of pages of government documents, including scathing investigative reports kept under wraps, and a trail of confidential memos showing officials stymieing outside inquiry. The documents concern most of the 107 deaths in detention counted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October 2003, after the agency was created within the Department of Homeland Security.The documents show how officials covered up evidence of mistreatment, deflect scrutiny by the news media or prepare exculpatory public statements after gathering facts that pointed to substandard care or abuse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/us/10detain.html
