Washington DC – Immigration and Customs Enforcement seems to be changing the way it reports the deaths of people in its custody to Congress, a leaked internal memo reveals.

In a leaked memo written and sent by Acting ICE Director David Venturella to staff on Thursday, the agency will no longer be required to report migrant deaths if they occur within 30 days of their release from detention.

"ICE is returning to the standard practice of reporting deaths that occur while an individual is in agency custody," Venturella wrote in the memo, which was reported on by the Washington Post.

The move reverses a rule introduced by President Joe Biden's administration in 2021 to help hold ICE accountable for the treatment of its prisoners while in custody.

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Specifically, it was designed to stop ICE from releasing prisoners who are in urgent need of medical care. This was driven by a case in which a man who had contracted Covid-19 while in detention died three days after his release.

"The policy changed to make clear that ICE should not release people simply to avoid deaths in custody," Deborah Fleischaker, who was ICE's acting chief of staff at the time, told the Washington Post.

In a raging post to X, the Department of Homeland Security responded to the story by calling the new policy "common sense," because it means that ICE no longer needs to monitor the health of those being released.

"ICE is not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody," a DHS spokesperson wrote.

"This updated policy outlines procedures for timely notification, review, and reporting of deaths occurring in ICE custody, including notifying next of kin, consulates, Congress, and the public."