How many ice shooting were there between 2015 &2021 ?

1. The raw tally reporters settled on

Investigative journalists at The Trace, working with Business Insider and TYPE Investigations and using records obtained through litigation, identified 59 shootings by ICE officers that occurred between 2015 and 2021, a total the reporting repeats across outlets and local coverage ^{[1] [4] [2]}. That 59-count is the figure most frequently cited in subsequent coverage of ICE use of deadly force for that six‑year span ^{[1] [4]}.

2. What that 59 includes — and what it may not

The Trace’s compilation covers incidents across 26 states and two U.S. territories and explicitly notes that two of the 59 shootings were self‑inflicted, indicating the dataset includes both officer‑inflicted and self‑inflicted gunshot incidents recorded in ICE logs or litigation materials ^[1]. Reporters caution the list likely undercounts the true number of shooting incidents because it was assembled from news reports, lawsuits and records obtained from the agency rather than a comprehensive, standardized public registry; The Trace itself acknowledges its numbers are "likely an undercount" ^{[3] [1]}.

3. Accountability, legal follow‑up and prosecutions

Across the cases examined in that reporting, not a single shooting resulted in a criminal indictment of an ICE agent, a point emphasized by The Trace and amplified in local reporting and analysis; multiple outlets note investigations were frequently led by federal authorities or hindered for state investigators, contributing to limited outside accountability ^{[4] [1] [5]}. Wired, summarizing years of reporting and DOJ records, likewise observes an absence of criminal indictments stemming from ICE shootings in that period ^[6].

4. Larger context: deaths, patterns and policy implications

Separate investigative summaries place the number of people killed by ICE agent shootings since 2015 at "more than two dozen" or at least 25, reflecting that many of the 59 incidents involved fatalities though the counts differ depending on how deaths are classified and which incidents are included in each review ^[6]. Reporting also highlights recurring patterns — shootings into moving vehicles, clashes between federal and state investigators, and cases where body or cellphone video contradicted official accounts — and notes that DHS policy updates introduced limits on firing into moving vehicles and emphasized de‑escalation after 2021 ^{[1] [6]}.

5. Limits of the public record and why the number matters

The 59‑incident figure rests on non‑exhaustive investigative work: journalists sued for and obtained ICE logs, reviewed lawsuits and aggregated news accounts, but there is no centralized, publicly transparent federal database that fully catalogs all uses of deadly force by ICE over that period, a gap that makes precise accounting difficult and allows for debate over scope and definition ^{[7] [3]}. Advocates, scholars and some reporters argue the absence of indictments and the barriers to state participation in probes point to systemic accountability gaps that the raw tally helps illuminate even as it may understate the full extent of shootings ^{[1] [6]}.

6. Alternate readings and outstanding questions

Some coverage focuses less on the headline count and more on outcomes — fatalities, investigations and policy changes — producing slightly different framings: outlets emphasize the number of deaths, the geographic spread, or the lack of prosecutions depending on their investigative emphasis ^{[6] [2] [8]}. Crucial unresolved questions remain in the public record, including whether additional unreported incidents exist, how many shootings involved CBP rather than ICE, and how internal ICE logs compare with state and local investigative records — matters the available sources do not fully reconcile ^{[1] [3]}.