Ice murders by year

1. 2025: a spike in in‑custody deaths, the data and who reports it

Multiple news organizations and immigrant‑rights groups, drawing on ICE notices and facility reports, concluded that 2025 saw the highest number of deaths in ICE custody since 2004, with Reuters reporting “at least 30 people” and The Guardian compiling 32 named deaths during the year ^{[1] [2]}. The American Immigration Council similarly counted at least 23 deaths by late September and noted additional deaths after the fiscal year, describing 2025 as deadlier than 2020 for detainees ^[3]. ICE itself publishes detainee death reports and says it will make all in‑custody death reports public per congressional requirements, but comprehensive year‑by‑year context beyond recent years requires consulting those ICE records directly ^[7].

2. Why the toll rose in 2025 — competing explanations in the record

Advocacy groups and journalists attribute the uptick to overcrowding, deteriorating conditions, medical neglect, and worsening mental‑health crises as the detention population swelled under an aggressive enforcement push ^{[3] [2]}. Reuters and nonprofit reporting linked the surge to a near‑50% increase in detained populations and to operational strain that can amplify health and safety failures ^{[1] [3]}. The agencies and supporters counter with claims that heightened enforcement has exposed more dangerous criminal offenders and that officers face rising assaults and threats in the field — an argument advanced by DHS and echoed in department communications about increased attacks on personnel ^{[8] [9]}.

3. Shootings and killings by ICE and related federal agents: counts and controversy

Separate from in‑custody deaths, several outlets tracked shootings by immigration agents during 2025–early 2026: The Guardian and The Trace compiled at least 16 shooting incidents linked to ICE and Border Patrol, which produced multiple injuries and at least four fatalities in a short span ^{[4] [5]}. The Marshall Project and local reporting documented a cluster of lethal encounters in the last five months of 2025 and into January 2026, including high‑profile cases that sparked protests and diverging official and local accounts of whether officers acted in self‑defense ^{[6] [10]}.

4. Claims of “murders” versus agency accounts and legal context

Activist organizations and unions of detained people’s families have labeled some of these deaths “murders,” arguing they reflect systemic cruelty and impunity ^{[11] [12]}. Federal authorities and DHS have often defended officers’ actions as lawful and sometimes characterized the enforcement environment as increasingly dangerous for personnel, releasing statistics on assaults and threats to justify robust tactics ^{[9] [8]}. Legal analysts note that state prosecutors can bring murder charges against federal agents where state law applies, and that contested self‑defense claims are matters for criminal investigation and, where warranted, indictment ^[13].

5. What remains unclear and where to look for year‑by‑year details

Available reporting converges on the conclusion that 2025 marked a historic rise in both detainee deaths and forceful encounters by immigration officers, but precise year‑by‑year historical tallies beyond “deadliest since 2004” are not fully enumerated in the provided coverage; ICE maintains a public detainee death reporting page which is the primary source for official, itemized counts and investigation statuses ^[7]. Independent trackers and watchdogs provide names, timelines and patterns ^{[2] [1]}, while DHS and ICE statements present a counter‑narrative emphasizing officer safety and the criminal records of many arrestees ^[8].