How many deaths in ICE custody were officially reported by ICE during Trump’s second term and how do those numbers compare with NGO tallies?
Executive summary
ICE’s own public tallies for the opening months of President Trump’s second term are inconsistent across official outlets but fall in roughly the 18–32 range depending on the date and which ICE posting is cited; independent NGOs, investigative outlets and congressional Democrats have compiled higher counts—generally 23–32 deaths—arguing ICE’s public reporting undercounts or lags its own internal figures [1] [2] [3]. The dispute is not merely arithmetic: it centers on reporting practices, fiscal-year cutoffs and allegations that ICE’s public trackers and narrative press releases omit or delay deaths that outside monitors record [4] [5].
1. ICE’s official numbers: multiple figures, multiple timelines
ICE’s public-facing reports and timelines have been cited as showing different totals: some ICE listings noted 18 deaths for fiscal year 2025 as of an October snapshot, a figure observers said was out of date, while ICE statements and the agency’s newsroom materials have been interpreted to reach totals as high as 25 or more for parts of 2025 [1] [5] [4]. By late 2025 and into early 2026 reporters and researchers were citing ICE-reported totals of roughly 30–32 detainee deaths during the calendar year 2025 and since Jan. 20, 2025, depending on whether counting stopped at fiscal-year end or continued into winter months [3] [6] [7].
2. NGO tallies and investigative counts: higher, and more consistent
Non‑governmental organizations and investigative outlets generally report higher and more consistent totals than the agency’s fragmented posts: the American Immigration Council flagged 23 officially reported deaths for that fiscal year and noted additional deaths beyond the fiscal cutoff that pushed the calendar‑year total higher [2], while The Guardian and other news investigations compiled lists identifying 32 people who died in ICE custody in 2025 [3]. Reuters, summarizing multiple cases and coroner findings, reported “at least 30 deaths in ICE custody last year,” a similar figure to NGO and media compilations [7].
3. Why the counts diverge: reporting windows, definitions and redactions
Advocates and some members of Congress say discrepancies stem from how ICE defines reportable deaths, fiscal‑year versus calendar‑year accounting, delayed updates to the agency’s online trackers, and narrative-style press releases that can obscure formal “Detainee Death Report” entries required by statute—practices critics argue allow undercounting or concealment [4] [5]. Congressional letters and the UN rights office highlighted gaps between ICE’s public database and other counts, noting the ICE tracker had not been updated and that DHS briefings cited different totals such as “30” or “53” when including CBP deaths and later months [1] [5].
4. The NGO argument about undercounting and context
Groups including the American Immigration Council and ACLU argue the raw death totals understate the human toll because the detained population rose sharply—reportedly by nearly 50% under the administration’s expansion—meaning deaths per detainee and reports of delayed or denied medical care matter beyond the headline number [2] [8]. Their tallies and case files emphasize families’ accounts, medical examiner findings and instances where ICE initially described deaths as “medical distress” before coroner reports or reporting showed different causes, arguing that independent compiling is necessary to capture the full scope [3] [9].
5. Alternative viewpoints and limits of the record
ICE and DHS have pushed back at some allegations, emphasizing investigations are ongoing in many cases and contesting assertions about intentional concealment; the agency’s narrative press releases and some timely postings are ICE’s chosen transparency tools even as outside monitors call for standardized Detainee Death Reports [4] [5]. Reporting shows clear ambiguity: independent sources converge on roughly 30–32 deaths in 2025 and roughly 30–32 since January 20, 2025 counted by media and NGOs, whereas ICE’s public tracker and select official tallies at various dates reported lower figures such as 18 or mid‑20s—differences explained in reporting by lagging updates and different counting rules [1] [2] [3].
6. Bottom line: numbers and the debate they fuel
Measured strictly by the compilations of NGOs and investigative reporters, the number of deaths in ICE custody during the opening months of Trump’s second term and across calendar 2025 clusters around 30–32 [3] [7], while ICE’s scattered official postings and fiscal‑year statements showed lower or earlier figures—commonly cited as 18–25—prompting calls from advocates, members of Congress and UN officials for clearer, standardized reporting and independent investigation [1] [5] [2]. The disagreement is substantive: it is not only what the count is, but what the agency’s reporting practices hide or reveal about conditions that preceded those deaths [4] [2].