How many people died in ICE detention each year since 2015 and how do totals compare annually?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
Deaths in ICE custody have risen sharply in fiscal year (FY) 2025: reporting outlets and advocacy tallies put the count at roughly 20–23 deaths through late 2025, the highest annual total since the early 2000s (NPR: “at least 20”; Migration Policy/American Immigration Council: “at least 23”) [1] [2]. Available sources do not provide a complete, year-by-year public table from 2015–2024 in this press bundle, so an exact annual comparison for every year since 2015 cannot be compiled from the supplied material (not found in current reporting).
1. The 2025 spike: what the reporting shows
Multiple mainstream outlets and advocacy tallies describe 2025 as the deadliest recent year for people in ICE custody: NPR reported “at least 20” deaths in 2025 to late October [1], OPB and NCPR repeated similar counts [3] [4], El País and Migration Policy/American Immigration Council tallies put the FY2025 total at 22–23 deaths as of late September/October [5] [2]. Congressional statements cite 10 deaths in the first half of 2025 and the Biden-era totals for earlier years, but the clearest theme in the sources is a pronounced increase in 2025 compared with the immediate prior years [6] [5].
2. What reporters and advocates say is driving the rise
Accounts link the rise to a larger detained population (about 60,000 monthly in 2025), rapid expansion of beds and hiring, staffing shortages for medical care, remote facility locations, and diminished oversight — all factors that advocates and former ICE officials told NPR and other outlets can increase preventable fatalities [1] [3]. Opinion pieces and advocacy groups emphasize overcrowding and profit incentives in private facilities as additional contributors [7].
3. How many died in prior years — limits of available reporting
The current set of documents does not include a consistent, source-verified annual count for each fiscal year 2015–2024. Some pieces note aggregate figures across short spans (for example, an ACLU analysis examined 52 deaths from 2017–2021, which implies averaging but does not give a single-year breakdown here) [8]. Migration Policy and news outlets contrast 2025 with the prior four years combined in one cited line, but the component yearly totals from 2015–2024 are not supplied in these sources [2].
4. Independent tallies vs. ICE’s reporting — differences matter
ICE maintains a detainee death reporting webpage and a cleared process for reporting deaths, but news outlets rely on a mix of ICE press releases, congressional notifications and independent tallies; that produces small discrepancies across counts [9] [10]. For example, El País notes a detainee whose death was not included in ICE’s official tally at the time of reporting, demonstrating why external counts can diverge from agency totals [5].
5. Cause-of-death patterns flagged by advocates and researchers
Reporting highlights multiple causes including untreated illness, suicide and neglect; human-rights groups say many of these deaths could have been prevented with adequate care. The ACLU and allied groups published a study finding systemic medical care failures examining 52 deaths from 2017–2021 [8]. News stories from The Marshall Project and others document suicides and withheld or delayed care as recurring themes in 2025 coverage [11].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas
Advocates frame the rise as the predictable outcome of policy choices — expanded detention, privatization and understaffing [7] [8]. Former ICE officials quoted in reporting warn about logistical strains of rapidly enlarging the system [3]. ICE’s public posture — emphasizing standards and protocols — appears in agency materials about detainee death procedures, but the supplied reporting shows skepticism that standards are being met in practice [9] [1].
7. What can be confidently concluded from the supplied sources
From the provided documents, the firm findings are: 2025 is described across multiple outlets as the deadliest year in ICE custody in decades with roughly 20–23 reported deaths through the fall of 2025 [1] [2] [5]. The sources link the rise to higher detention populations and systemic care failures, and independent analyses (ACLU) demonstrate a pattern of preventable failures in prior multi-year samples [1] [2] [8].
8. Data gaps and what to check next
The supplied reporting lacks a vetted, year-by-year public list from 2015–2024. To produce a precise annual comparison since 2015 you should consult (a) ICE’s Detainee Death Reporting historical logs for each fiscal year and (b) independent tallies by advocacy groups (AILA, AIC, ACLU) that track press releases and confirmed deaths; those sources are implied in the reporting but not provided here [9] [10] [2]. Available sources do not mention a compiled 2015–2024 yearly table in this bundle (not found in current reporting).