The Department of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is tasked with protecting the nation from cross-border crime and illegal immigration that may impact national security. Yet, under the Trump administration, ICE policies have been marked by abuse, injustice, and unwanted chaos.
In recent news, a Minnesota man who received a kidney transplant has reportedly been denied access to essential anti-rejection medication for over four days while he is in ICE custody, according to Carolina Rosario De Abreu, the wife of detainee Javier Abreu-Vasquez.
He has reportedly not received his medication since his arrest on February 5, 2026. He requires daily anti-rejection drugs following his kidney transplant at the Mayo Clinic in July 2023.
According to The Daily Beast, ICE agents detained Abreu-Vasquez in Rochester, Minnesota, while he was delivering groceries for a church-based mutual aid group. Witnesses reported that his vehicle was rammed and a window was broken during the arrest.
Javier recently received a kidney transplant but ICE won’t allow him live-saving medication.
This is the car of Javier Abreu-Vasquez, a man who was detained by ICE last week. They broke his window, dragged him out, and detained him without access to his anti-rejection… pic.twitter.com/vkUMmM5PaK
— Matt Little (@LittleCongress) February 9, 2026
State Rep. Kim Hicks said she delivered Abreu-Vasquez’s medication to the Whipple Federal Building on Friday, where he was being held. However, her attorney informed her that a doctor’s note was still required before the medication could be delivered.
After the family provided documentation from his Mayo Clinic physician, federal officers told them he was already receiving his medication, though his family disputes that claim.
Abreu-Vasquez later told his family he was being taken to a detention facility in Texas. Previously, Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first member of Generation Z in Congress, exposed the harrowing conditions at the Alligator Alcatraz detention center in Florida.
Reportedly, there are many other detention centers where people are deprived of basic needs. Criminals and “illegal aliens” who arrive are given a handbook of rules. The handbook details strict regulations and a color-coded uniform system based on criminal history and other details.
Detainees are reportedly permitted to keep only essential religious or medical items and are instructed not to speak, move, or interact with others during headcount.
Javier recently received a kidney transplant but ICE won’t allow him live-saving medication.
This is the car of Javier Abreu-Vasquez, a man who was detained by ICE last week. They broke his window, dragged him out, and detained him without access to his anti-rejection… pic.twitter.com/vkUMmM5PaK
— Matt Little (@LittleCongress) February 9, 2026
Civil rights lawyers have already filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that detainees are denied fundamental legal rights at the Alligator Alcatraz facility. Abreu-Vasquez has at least been given the basic needs to survive in the unnamed detention center in Texas.
Consequently, in a statement released on Friday, DHS assistant press secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE was aware of Abreu-Vasquez’s medical condition and was working with his family to ensure he received necessary care.
“ICE is aware of his recent kidney transplant, and his family sent the medications and medical documentation,” DHS assistant press secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement. “ICE is working with the family to ensure he gets all of his needed medications.”
“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” the statement continues. “This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
Javier Abreu-Vasquez had a kidney transplant in 2023.
Without his anti rejection meds, he will lose the organ.
ICE is denying him medication.
This is how people die. https://t.co/vhGY9nRao1
— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto) February 9, 2026
When reporters requested an update on whether Abreu-Vasquez had received his medication, officials repeated the previous statement without providing a direct answer.
Rep. Hicks said Abreu-Vasquez is legally present in the U.S. and has an alien registration number. She criticized the arrest and detention, questioning why a noncriminal community member was allegedly denied life-saving medication.
“This is not the ‘worst of the worst,’” Hicks said. “What is the purpose, and what is the end goal?”
This is not the first time something like this has happened. Abreu-Vasquez happens to be one of many individuals captured by ICE who are now trapped in the inevitable loop to prove their identity and achieve justice.
