How many people have been killed by ice
Executive summary
Short answer: reporting shows that recent years have seen dozens of deaths linked to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and operations — most sources identify at least 32 deaths in ICE custody during 2025 and dozens more across multi‑year studies — but there is no single, agreed historical total because different outlets and researchers use different definitions (in‑custody vs. enforcement‑related), data windows, and counting rules [1] [2] [3] [4]. Any definitive tally must acknowledge those methodological limits and gaps in public reporting from ICE [3] [4].
1. The short, verifiable tally for 2025
Multiple mainstream outlets and datasets report that at least 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025, a figure described as the agency’s deadliest year in two decades by The Guardian, People magazine and corroborated in charting based on ICE data [1] [2] [3]. Those counts come from ICE death notices and investigative reporting that enumerated named cases across detention facilities and hospital transfers [1] [2].
2. Why “32” is a headline number — and what it excludes
The 32‑death figure is limited to deaths recorded as occurring in ICE custody and thus can exclude related fatalities that happened during enforcement actions (for example, deaths while fleeing agents, highway incidents, or Border Patrol custody) and deaths attributed to other agencies or contexts; media accounts note specific exclusions such as farm‑raid deaths or Border Patrol suicides that were not counted in the ICE custody list [5] [1]. Statista and other analysts caution that ICE’s own reporting definitions can undercount cases compared with independent trackers because of definitional and reporting lags [3].
3. Broader multi‑year reviews paint a larger, troubling picture
Advocacy and research organizations have documented dozens of deaths across multi‑year windows: the ACLU-led review examined 52 deaths between 2017–2021 and concluded systemic medical and oversight failures made roughly 95 percent of those deaths preventable or possibly preventable [4]. Peer‑reviewed and public‑health analyses updating FY2018–2023 death reports used ICE’s mandated death notices to calculate rates and causes, illustrating persistent medical and suicide deaths over multiple fiscal years [6].
4. Political and oversight actors report different totals and raise transparency concerns
Members of Congress and advocacy coalitions have cited higher combined totals across ICE and CBP custody — for example, a House office referenced a record 53 deaths in ICE & CBP custody in one communication — and community groups have staged public actions noting “at least 25” or similar tallies over shorter windows, emphasizing gaps in accountability and timeliness of ICE reporting [7] [8]. Journalists and oversight groups repeatedly flag delayed or incomplete investigatory reports by ICE and argue that some deaths surface only after outside investigation [5] [4].
5. What types of deaths are being counted and contested
Reported causes in the public datasets include medical deaths (heart failure, strokes, complications), suicides, and deaths following seizures or other acute events; in some high‑profile cases, medical examiners later reclassified or labelled deaths as homicides after local probes, illustrating conflicting official narratives [1] [9] [6]. Researchers note that differences in whether a death occurred “in ICE custody,” during transport, after transfer to a hospital, or under another agency’s control materially change counts [3] [6].
6. The bottom line and the limits of available data
Answering “how many people have been killed by ICE” requires first defining the scope: if the question means “how many died while in ICE custody in 2025,” available reporting supports “at least 32” deaths [1] [2] [3]; if it seeks a historical cumulative total across years and across enforcement‑related incidents, publicly available sources provide multiple, sometimes inconsistent counts (e.g., 52 examined deaths across 2017–2021 by the ACLU and FY2018–2023 analyses by health researchers), and ICE’s reporting practices and definitional choices limit the ability to produce a single authoritative lifetime total without further FOIA disclosure or standardized counting rules [4] [6] [3].