How many detainee deaths and abuse allegations have been linked to ICE detention centers?
Executive summary
2025 was described by multiple outlets as the deadliest year for people in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in two decades, with reporting placing the toll at roughly 31–32 deaths that year [1] [2], and four additional deaths were reported in the first ten days of 2026 [3] [4]. Allegations of physical abuse, medical neglect and sexual assault at ICE facilities—especially at newly expanded sites such as Camp East Montana/Fort Bliss—have been detailed by advocacy groups and detainees in ACLU reports and press statements [5] [6].
1. How many detainee deaths have been reported recently — the headline numbers
Media tallies and ICE press releases put four detainee deaths in the first ten days of 2026 — Parady La, Luis Beltran Yanez‑Cruz, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres and Geraldo Lunas Campos — a cluster that followed a historically high year of deaths in 2025 [3] [4]. Independent advocacy groups and outlets compiled timelines showing 31 deaths in 2025 (Detention Watch Network) and another timeline listing 32 people who died in ICE custody that year (The Guardian), reflecting slight variation across compendia but the same overall conclusion: deaths rose sharply in 2025 to a two‑decade high [1] [2].
2. Case example that crystallized concerns: Geraldo Lunas Campos
Reporting on the January 3, 2026 death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at Camp East Montana amplified scrutiny: a fellow detainee told The Washington Post he witnessed guards choke Lunas Campos, and a medical examiner report circulated suggesting the death may be classified a homicide; those witness accounts and the potential homicide finding are reported by the Washington Post and The Guardian [7] [8]. DHS and ICE offered alternative explanations, saying the detainee attempted suicide and resisted officers — discrepancies that illustrate contested official narratives in high‑profile cases [9] [8].
3. Abuse allegations beyond deaths: patterns and claims from advocates and detainees
Advocacy organizations and detained people have alleged a constellation of abuses at expanded and long‑standing detention sites: beatings, sexual abuse by officers, coercive threats to compel deportation, medical neglect, hunger, and denial of counsel — allegations detailed in an ACLU letter and reporting on Fort Bliss and other facilities [5] [6]. Local reporting and civil complaints have documented moldy cells, water problems and extended solitary confinement in some contractor‑run centers, reinforcing claims of poor conditions and neglect [10].
4. Official responses and the dispute over causes and responsibility
DHS and ICE have repeatedly defended medical screening and emergency care procedures, saying detainees receive intake screenings and 24‑hour emergency care, and framing some deaths as suicides or medical events rather than systemic failure [4] [11]. The agency and department statements cited in Reuters and other outlets emphasize capacity increases and claimed standards of care even as advocacy groups call for closures and congressional oversight [9] [3].
5. Limits of the available reporting and what remains uncounted
There is no single, universally agreed‑upon public database in these sources that reconciles every death, cause and pending investigation; different compilers list 31 versus 32 deaths for 2025 and government tallies can differ from advocacy group counts [1] [2]. Likewise, abuse allegations are reported through NGO letters, detainee declarations and local reporting rather than uniformly adjudicated investigations — this reporting establishes patterns of allegations tied to many facilities, but does not convert every allegation into a verified legal finding in the sources provided [5] [6] [10].
6. Bottom line — what the numbers and allegations together say
The assembled reporting shows an unmistakable rise in detainee deaths in 2025 — on the order of three dozen when combining the year’s toll with early‑2026 deaths documented by multiple sources [1] [2] [3] — and concurrent, repeated allegations of abuse and medical neglect at multiple ICE detention sites, particularly at newly expanded facilities like Fort Bliss/Camp East Montana where detainees and civil‑rights groups report violence and denials of care [5] [6]. Officials dispute some specific characterizations of cause and responsibility, making ongoing investigations and independent oversight crucial to converting allegations into verified findings [9] [8] [11].