How many deaths in ICE custody occurred under each presidential administration, and how do watchdog groups verify those figures?
Executive summary
Public records and reporting show a marked rise in deaths in ICE custody during the second Trump administration — with 2025 alone reaching 30–32 in‑custody deaths and the fiscal year described as the deadliest since 2004 — while watchdog tallies for prior administrations vary because of different methods: researchers counted 56 deaths under President Obama using FOIA documents, ICE reported 24 deaths during the four years of the Biden presidency, and total deaths since ICE’s 2003 start are tracked at roughly 159 in some counts [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. A tally by administration: what the records say
The most recent spike occurred in 2025, when ICE reported around 30–32 detainee deaths, a level described by multiple outlets as the highest since 2004 and matching a two‑decade record (The Guardian, Reuters, American Immigration Council) [2] [1] [5]; contemporaneous reporting compared that to 24 in‑custody deaths over the entire Biden presidency [4]. Independent researchers using agency FOIA records previously counted 56 deaths during the Obama administration [3], and aggregate lists that rely on public federal records place the cumulative total since 2003 at roughly 159, though those lists note exclusions and classification differences [3] [6].
2. How watchdogs, journalists and researchers compile those numbers
Watchdog groups and journalists primarily assemble tallies from a combination of ICE’s public “detainee death reports,” agency press releases, court filings, local reporting and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosures; Fatal Neglect, for example, used FOIA documents to produce its Obama‑era count [3], while public chronologies such as Wikipedia’s list are built “mainly on US federal government records” released into the public domain [6]. Nonprofits like Detention Watch Network and the American Immigration Council cross‑check ICE releases against local reporting, family accounts and legal filings to identify cases they say ICE omits or downplays [2] [5].
3. ICE’s official reporting rules — what the agency must (and says it does)
ICE’s detainee death policy requires Field Office Directors to report any death within 12 hours to multiple ICE and DHS offices and to publish a news release with details within two business days, with full reports posted within 90 days as required by DHS appropriations language [7]. ICE also states it provides initial medical screening within 12 hours and a full health assessment within 14 days of intake (statements documented in media reporting) [8].
4. Verification challenges and disputes between watchdogs and ICE
Counts diverge because of definitional and timing issues: watchdogs may include deaths of people transferred out of custody who later die, people who died after release but following inadequate care, or cases reported by families that precede ICE’s formal notice; ICE’s public figures reflect the agency’s internal classification and its formal reporting timeline [7] [3] [6]. Critics also argue that staffing cuts to oversight offices, crowded facilities and reduced releases under recent enforcement policies have contributed to higher deaths and to gaps in transparent oversight, claims documented by NPR and advocacy groups [8] [5]. ICE counters that death rates remain very low — citing a figure of 0.00007% over the last decade — but the agency has not publicly produced the underlying data for that percentage when quoted in media coverage [2].
5. What verification looks like in practice and where uncertainty remains
Verification usually requires matching an ICE death report to independent records: mortuary, hospital, local coroner reports, FOIAed agency files, family statements or litigation records; watchdogs use those sources to flag potential undercounting or delayed disclosure [3] [6]. Remaining uncertainties include cases in Border Patrol custody (tracked separately and sometimes omitted from ICE tallies), possible lags between an event and ICE’s public posting, and disputed cause-of-death conclusions that only medical examiners can settle — areas where reporting documents and watchdog inventories diverge [6] [7].