Number of people who have died in ice under trump
Executive summary
During the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term (largely the 2025 calendar year), reporting shows a sharp rise in deaths of people while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody: most mainstream outlets and ICE-linked tallies put the number at about 30–32 deaths in 2025, while advocacy groups and congressional offices cite slightly different totals because of differing counting methods and timing (for example, 23, 25, 30, and 32 appear across sources) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Discrepancies reflect whether counts use ICE’s official Detainee Death Reports, fiscal-year totals, calendar-year tallies, or include Border Patrol deaths and people released shortly before dying.
1. What the major outlets report: roughly 30–32 deaths in 2025
National reporting that aggregated ICE releases and investigative counts found that 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detainees in over two decades, with The Guardian and multiple outlets reporting 32 deaths in ICE custody during 2025, a figure that matched the previous high set in 2004 [1] [5]. Reuters and PBS characterized 2025 as a two-decade high and noted "at least 30" deaths in 2025 according to agency figures and press releases, tying the spike to a large increase in detentions under the Trump administration [6] [7].
2. Why different sources give different totals: fiscal year vs calendar year, official reports vs advocacy tracking
Advocacy groups and congressional offices have published varying totals: the American Immigration Council cited 23 deaths in a fiscal-year snapshot and then noted two additional deaths after the fiscal year closed, while Rep. Judy Chu’s office reported ICE had publicly reported 25 detainee deaths since January 23, 2025 and issued 15 formal Detainee Death Reports [2] [8] [3]. Discrepancies arise because ICE’s public reporting can lag, because congressional counts sometimes rely on agency press releases rather than Detainee Death Reports, and because trackers differ on whether to include Border Patrol custody deaths, people released shortly before dying, or deaths after transfer to hospitals while the person remained under ICE control [9] [3].
3. ICE’s own reporting practices and transparency concerns
ICE’s official reporting mechanism—Detainee Death Reports—generally documents in-custody deaths, but critics and legal advocates say ICE has used transfers, releases shortly before death, and narrative-style newsroom posts that euphemize “passes away” to obscure the scale of deaths; the ACLU has sued over non-disclosure of some deaths and watchdogs note ICE’s different formats and timelines for posting details [9]. Congressional Democrats and immigrant-rights groups have publicly challenged ICE’s transparency after the surge in deaths, demanding documents and investigations into whether medical neglect, overcrowding, and operational changes contributed [3] [10].
4. What reporting links the rise to policy and capacity changes
Multiple investigations and commentators link the rise in in-custody deaths to a near-50% surge in the detained population after the administration expanded arrests and detention capacity, with overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and escalating mental-health crises named as contributing factors by advocates and some reporters [2] [5] [8]. The American Immigration Council, Detention Watch Network, and other groups argue the administration’s detention expansion and lower standards increased fatalities; the administration has said it is expanding healthcare staffing but has not always disclosed underlying data publicly [2] [8].
5. How to state the bottom-line number responsibly
Given the variation in counting methods across ICE reports, media aggregates, advocacy trackers, and congressional letters, the responsible, sourced bottom line is: most mainstream and agency-linked tallies place the number of people who died in ICE custody during 2025 at roughly 30–32, with other official or advocacy counts citing 23–25 for particular fiscal-year or partial-period measures; these differences are due to timing, definition (calendar vs fiscal year), and whether Border Patrol or post-release deaths are included [1] [6] [2] [3]. Sources differ; reporting limitations prevent a single undisputed total across all definitions [9].