What independent investigations or autopsies exist for the 32 deaths in ICE custody in 2025, and which cases remain under active inquiry?
Executive summary
2025 saw the most deaths in ICE custody since 2004, with reporting aggregators documenting 31–32 fatalities and ICE confirming numerous ongoing probes into those deaths [1] [2] [3]. Public reporting shows a patchwork of agency-led reviews, occasional independent medical reviews cited by advocacy groups and journalists, and multiple cases where family attorneys or Congress have requested external inquiries — but no single public registry catalogues which of the 32 deaths had full independent autopsies or remain under active external inquiry [4] [5] [6].
1. What investigations ICE says it conducts and what that looks like in practice
ICE’s public protocol requires immediate notification of a detainee death and agency-led medical reviews, oversight and compliance investigations, and preparation of reports shared with stakeholders, a process the agency describes on its detainee death reporting page [5]. Journalistic reviews and ICE statements show that in many 2025 cases the agency opened internal medical or oversight reviews — language used repeatedly in ICE death notices — but those are agency-controlled processes, not independent autopsies commissioned by outside medical examiners [2] [5].
2. Independent medical reviews documented by journalists and advocacy groups
Advocacy organizations and journalists have supplemented ICE materials with independent medical-expert reviews in prior death investigations and in 2025 coverage; for example, the AILA report and related investigations have relied on outside medical experts to review ICE’s investigatory reports in past years, and some 2025 cases were reviewed publicly by independent experts cited by outlets such as The Guardian and the Miami Herald [4] [1]. NPR’s reporting notes that the ICE Health Services Corps and the Office of Detention Oversight conducted additional internal investigations in 2025, and that independent reviewers have raised questions about timeliness and adequacy of care in particular deaths — but NPR does not provide a list of which individual cases received independent autopsies [7].
3. Where family attorneys and Congress have pushed for outside inquiries
Families and their attorneys have publicly signaled intent to pursue independent autopsies or civil investigations in certain deaths — for example, counsel for Parady La said they intend a “full investigation” into suspicious circumstances [8], and members of Congress demanded immediate transparent investigations after specific December deaths, highlighting the need for congressional oversight into persistent reports of inadequate medical care [6]. Those requests indicate active external pressure, but public records in the provided reporting do not confirm completion of independent autopsies across the 32 cases [6] [8].
4. Gaps, trends and the oversight environment affecting independent inquiries
Reporting by the Project On Government Oversight documents a sharp drop in published ICE facility inspections in 2025 as detentions surged, a context that critics say hampers independent oversight and may limit timely external investigations [9]. Journalists and advocates point to a fragmented accountability picture: agency-led reviews plus selective independent expert analyses by news outlets and legal teams, rather than a uniform practice of independent autopsy in every custodial death [9] [4].
5. What can be stated with confidence and what remains unknown
It is certain that 2025 produced the highest reported total of in-custody deaths since 2004 and that ICE announced multiple ongoing investigations and internal reviews in response [1] [2] [5]. It is also established that independent medical experts have reviewed some cases in journalistic or advocacy reports and that families and Congress have called for outside probes in specific deaths [4] [6] [8]. What cannot be fully confirmed from the provided reporting is a comprehensive list showing which of the 32 deaths received independent autopsies, which exact cases currently remain under active external inquiry (beyond ICE’s own “under investigation” status), or the final findings of those independent reviews — the public record in these sources is fragmented and uneven on those points [1] [7] [4].