How many people have been shot and killed by ICE under the trump administration
Executive summary
Reports from major news organizations and data trackers show multiple fatal shootings linked to federal immigration enforcement under President Trump’s second-term crackdown; mainstream tallies published in January 2026 place the number of people shot and killed by immigration agents at roughly four to five, while broader compilations that mix ICE and other DHS agencies report higher totals (up to eight) depending on definitions and timeframe [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. The headline tallies: four to five deaths in most news accounts
Several respected outlets and data projects documented that, since the administration’s intensified operations began, immigration agents have been involved in multiple shootings that resulted in deaths, with The Guardian reporting four people killed in shootings by immigration agents as of January 9, 2026 [1] and local data teams — compiling The Trace’s dataset — cited by WCVB/WBALT and other outlets noting five fatalities tied to officer gunfire in the same period [2] [3].
2. Why some lists show higher totals (eight and up)
Some public compilations and aggregated lists broaden the scope beyond ICE alone to include Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or to count additional incidents where agency responsibility is unclear; a Wikipedia list that aggregates “immigration agents” shootings during the second Trump administration reports at least eight deaths but explicitly mixes CBP and ICE incidents and flags uncertainty about which agency’s officer fired in some cases [4].
3. Ground-level examples that shaped the counts
High-profile cases that anchor these tallies include the Minneapolis killing of Renee Nicole Good, widely reported as an ICE fatal shooting and prominently debated in national coverage [5] [6], and other fatal shootings such as Alex Pretti’s killing, which prompted bipartisan scrutiny and further reporting on deaths linked to the enforcement surge [7]. Newsroom compilations (e.g., The Trace, cited by The Guardian and local outlets) are the principal sources used to produce the four-to-five fatality counts [1] [2].
4. Disputes, contested narratives and ongoing investigations
Several of the fatal incidents are contested: federal officials often described shootings as self-defense while local videos, state officials and independent reporting have disputed those accounts, prompting FBI, DHS investigative-arm or state inquiries [5] [8] [9]. Reporting notes that administration statements and rapid official characterizations have at times conflicted with later evidence, underscoring why counts and classifications remain fluid while investigations proceed [8] [10].
5. Key reasons the exact number remains unsettled
Counting deaths “by ICE” hinges on definitional choices (ICE-only versus all DHS immigration agents), the inclusion/exclusion of deaths in custody versus deaths from on-scene shootings, delays in official disclosure and independent confirmation, and the fact that some compilations rely on media, Gun Violence Archive and Trace datasets that may undercount unreported incidents [4] [1] [9] [2]. Multiple outlets warn that their numbers are likely conservative and subject to revision as investigations and reporting continue [2] [9].
6. Bottom line
Based on the reporting available in January 2026, the most defensible statement is that mainstream data-tracking and news organizations documented roughly four to five people shot and killed by federal immigration officers tied to the Trump administration’s recent enforcement surge, while broader compilations that include CBP or ambiguous multi-agency incidents report a higher total (up to eight); the exact figure remains contested and conditional on agency attribution and ongoing probes [1] [2] [4] [8].