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Human rights group report warns of detention deaths

Human rights group researcher said activists are concerned the president's executive order on the separation of families will put more vulnerable people at risk.

Washington — A human rights activist whose father died in a detention center is not happy about President Trump's new executive order.

“More people died in immigration detention in fiscal year 2017 than any year since 2009,” read part of a report released by a non-profit group called, Human Rights Watch.

On Wednesday, representatives associated with the group met with Congressional staffers working on immigration litigation.

RELATED: What is (and isn't) in Trump's executive order on family separation

The purpose was the share the scathing report on detention center deaths but on Wednesday, Clara Long was also waiving the red flag.

“When the Obama Administration wasn't abiding by the Flores agreement, there were significant numbers of people, children, who were being held in family detention for periods of a year or longer – that's a two-year-old being held in jail for more than a third of her life," said Long.

Long told WUSA9 activists are afraid Wednesday's executive order addressing recent family separations at the border will do the same.

"We just don't know how this will play out,” she said.

The report released from the Human Rights Watch says, “From 2010 to 2017, 74 people died in immigration detention.”

The group said they reviewed 52 cases and that “Bad medical care contributed to 23 of these deaths.”

It blames oversight and dangerous practices like “botched emergency responses” as reasons why.

The groups said detention centers keep growing. Last year, HRW says ICE held a daily average of nearly 40,500 people. That's more than twice the amount of people we just saw crowd the Capital One Arena for a Stanley Cup Final watch party.

RELATED: What happens next for undocumented immigrant families? Here's what we know

An Ice Spokesperson gave a long statement partly saying, “… any death that happens in ICE Custody is a cause for concern.”

The Spokesperson also noted on an annual basis, they process 300,000 to 500,000 people, many of whom have never had regular health care.

"The connection I think between this report and the news of today, is that the executive order promises to send more and more vulnerable people into this immigration detention system,” said Long.

You can read the Human Rights Watch report by clicking here.

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