How many people have died during deportation or detainment operations under Donald Trump?
Executive summary
The most concrete public tallies show a sharp rise in deaths tied to U.S. immigration detention since President Trump returned to office: ICE reported that 32 people died in its custody in calendar year 2025, a figure characterized by multiple outlets as the deadliest year for the agency in more than two decades [1]. Independent trackers and advocacy groups report slightly different counts—at least 23 detainee deaths in FY2025 by one tally and multiple suicides and medically linked deaths noted elsewhere—underscoring that totals depend on the timespan and data source used [2] [3] [4].
1. What the headline numbers say: 32 recorded ICE deaths in 2025
ICE’s own reporting and investigative timelines compiled by outlets such as The Guardian place 32 deaths in ICE custody during 2025, a number described as the agency’s deadliest year since the early 2000s and reported amid record-high detention populations under the Trump administration [1]. That 32 figure is framed as a calendar‑year count linked specifically to people held by ICE, not a comprehensive accounting of all deaths occurring during enforcement operations outside formal custody [1].
2. Alternative tallies and fiscal-year framing produce smaller but consistent signals
Other organizations produce slightly different totals: the American Immigration Council and Migration Policy Institute note at least 23 to 24 deaths in FY2025 when tallying ICE news releases and related reporting, and several trackers cite that FY2025 saw more deaths than the prior four fiscal years combined, signaling a sharp upward trend even if exact counts vary by methodology [2] [3]. Advocacy-oriented trackers and reporting also highlight specific causes—COVID, infections, chronic disease, injuries and suicide—rather than a single unified category of “deportation-related” deaths [4] [3].
3. Deaths during enforcement operations versus deaths in custody: the definitional problem
Public records and news reporting distinguish deaths that occur while people are in ICE detention from fatalities that happen during enforcement operations—such as shootings during arrests—yet many sources aggregate these outcomes as part of the human cost of the immigration push; Reuters, for example, reported deaths tied to enforcement operations in January 2026 alongside the broader custody death count, but datasets and public statements rarely combine both categories into a single verified total [5]. Sources also note that some deaths are still under investigation and that ICE’s published numbers reflect officially confirmed in-custody deaths rather than every lethal incident connected to enforcement activity [1] [5].
4. Known causes and notable sub-counts: suicides and medical neglect
Reporting documents multiple suicides and deaths tied to untreated medical conditions or infections during the recent detention surge: at least three apparent suicides have been reported in relation to inadequate mental‑health care, and several deaths have been attributed publicly to infections, uncontrolled chronic disease, and other medical neglect in an overcrowded system [4] [3]. Advocates and the American Immigration Council argue the spike in detentions—detainee populations rose by roughly half in the first year—has driven conditions that correlate with higher mortality [3] [6].
5. Limits of the public record and what remains unknown
Quantifying “how many people have died during deportation or detainment operations under Donald Trump” depends on definitions, timeframes and source selection: ICE’s 32 in-custody deaths in 2025 is the clearest single datum [1], but other reputable tallies—23 in FY2025, documented suicides and medically linked deaths noted by trackers—demonstrate variability and incomplete transparency [2] [4]. Multiple sources also report that DHS has increasingly used nontraditional and privatized facilities and that tracking of detained or missing citizens remains incomplete, meaning publicly known totals likely understate the full human cost or remain subject to revision as investigations conclude [7] [6].