How many ice involved shootings have there been in the last 20 years
Executive summary
There is no single, authoritative public tally of “ICE‑involved shootings” across the last 20 years in the sources provided; reporting and trackers point to a substantial number but differ by scope and method, and major outlets warn their counts are likely underestimates [1]. Available, sourced snapshots: investigative reporting finds at least 25 people killed by ICE agents since 2015 (a subset of the last 20 years) while trackers and contemporaneous coverage document dozens more shootings — especially a sharp surge since 2025 — but none of the sources supplies a definitive 2006–2026 total [2] [3] [1].
1. Why a precise 20‑year number is not available in the record
Federal agencies do not publish a comprehensive, public database that tallies every use‑of‑force incident involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and related DHS components over two decades, and journalists and nonprofits compiling lists rely on news reports, public records and Freedom of Information Act requests, producing likely undercounts, per The Trace’s methodology caveat [1].
2. What investigative reporting does establish for the recent period (since 2015)
Longform reporting by WIRED — based on lawsuits, FOIA releases, interviews and cross‑analysis — concluded that “not counting the Good shooting,” ICE agent shootings had killed at least 25 people since 2015, and that these incidents frequently involved moving vehicles and public settings [2]. That figure is a conservative, researched baseline for the most recent decade and change, not a 20‑year total [2].
3. The scale and concentration of shootings in 2025–2026
Multiple outlets and crowd‑sourced trackers documented an abrupt spike in shootings by immigration agents beginning in mid‑2025 and into January 2026: a Wikipedia compilation recorded at least 30 shootings by immigration agents since January 20, 2025, producing eight deaths in that narrow window, and news organizations reported multiple fatal incidents in Minneapolis and elsewhere in early 2026 [3] [4] [5]. The Marshall Project, PBS and Reuters also highlighted several high‑profile fatal and nonfatal uses of deadly force tied to the 2025–26 enforcement surge [6] [7] [8].
4. Differences in definitions that change the count
“ICE‑involved shootings” can mean different things in different datasets: shootings by sworn ICE officers, shootings by Border Patrol or CBP personnel operating alongside ICE, shootings by officers affiliated with multi‑agency task forces, off‑duty agents using service weapons, and deaths that occur in ICE custody are distinct categories that are sometimes aggregated and sometimes separated by reporters; WIRED and The Trace note those definitional and attribution challenges, which complicate any 20‑year sum [2] [1].
5. Competing interpretations and why numbers vary
Some sources emphasize fatal shootings only (e.g., WIRED’s count of people killed since 2015) while trackers include nonfatal shootings and shots fired at vehicles [2] [3]. Outlets also acknowledge politically fraught contexts — recent Congressional fights over DHS funding and partisan framing of enforcement operations — which shape which incidents receive coverage and how aggressively agencies release records [9] [5]. Reporters and researchers warn that media‑based tallies are likely undercounts because not all incidents are publicly reported or investigated [1].
6. Bottom line and best available estimate with caveats
Based on the sources provided, a defensible, sourced statement is that investigative reporting documents at least 25 fatal shootings by ICE agents since 2015 (part of the last 20 years) and that there were at least 30 reported shootings by immigration agents during the concentrated surge beginning January 2025, producing multiple deaths through early 2026; however, no source in the record offers a verified, comprehensive count covering the full two decades 2006–2026, and all available trackers warn of likely undercounts [2] [3] [1]. Researchers seeking a fuller 20‑year total should combine FOIA disclosures, agency use‑of‑force logs (if obtainable), court records and the nonprofit trackers named above to reconcile overlaps among ICE, CBP and multi‑agency task forces [2] [1].