How many people have been killed in trumps second term due to ice, including 2026 data
Executive summary
Across multiple contemporaneous reports, the most defensible, sourced count separates two categories: deaths of people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while in custody, and people killed by federal immigration agents (shootings and other on-scene fatalities). In ICE custody, reporting documents 32 deaths in 2025 and at least six additional in early 2026 (for a rolling total of at least 38 detainee deaths tied to the second Trump administration through January 2026); killings by immigration agents in enforcement operations number at least four to eight deaths depending on the dataset and cutoff used, leaving a combined, conservative range of roughly 42–46 deaths tied to ICE-related custody and agent use of lethal force in the administration’s second term as of late January 2026, with major caveats and overlapping reporting gaps [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. Detention deaths: the documented toll in custody and early 2026 additions
ICE and investigative outlets report that 2025 saw a record spike—32 deaths in ICE custody, matching a 2004 high—and that at least four migrants died in the first 10 days of January 2026, with Reuters and ICE press releases noting four deaths between January 3–9 and other outlets reporting at least six detainee deaths disclosed by January 25, 2026, creating a documented in-custody total of at least 38 for the administration through mid/late January 2026 [1] [2] [3] [6].
2. Deaths from enforcement shootings and on-scene killings by immigration agents
Independent compilations and local reporting record multiple fatal shootings by federal immigration agents during the same period: some counts identify at least 16–19 shooting incidents by immigration officers in the second term, with those shoots producing between four and eight deaths depending on the source and the inclusion criteria (The Trace/Get the Facts analysis and WCVB put the figure at four deaths; a Wikipedia compilation and Wall Street Journal reporting suggest up to eight deaths in related shootings) — underscoring variance in how shootings, injuries and outcomes are catalogued [5] [7] [4].
3. Putting the pieces together: why ranges, not a single number, are necessary
Combining ICE in-custody deaths (32 in 2025 + at least six in early 2026) with documented agent-caused killings (conservatively 4–8) yields a plausible total in the 42–46 range through late January 2026, but this arithmetic rests on non-overlapping classification and assumes the datasets don’t double-count the same incidents under different headings (for example, a detainee shot during an arrest could appear in both a “shootings” list and in-custody death tallies), and sources explicitly note incomplete disclosure and reporting lags from ICE and Border Patrol that leave additional uncertainty [1] [2] [3] [6] [4].
4. Discrepancies, institutional opacity and competing narratives
Government releases, independent trackers and advocacy groups diverge: ICE’s official reporting has omitted some deaths flagged by watchdogs and Congress, advocates cite 23 detainee deaths “this fiscal year” and congressional letters cite 17 Border Patrol custody deaths in the first 12 months, while journalistic investigations and NGOs point to higher totals and question cause-of-death determinations [8] [6] [9]. These divergences reflect institutional opacity (delayed or narrative-style ICE announcements), differing inclusion rules (Border Patrol vs ICE, in-transit deaths, off-duty officer incidents) and political stakes: agencies under an administration prioritizing enforcement may have incentives to minimize or frame incidents to reduce scrutiny [6] [10].
5. Bottom line, caveats and what reliable reporting does — and does not — show
Reliable, contemporaneous sourcing supports a conservative figure of at least ~42 deaths connected to ICE detention and federal immigration agent lethal force in Trump’s second term through January 2026, with credible upper estimates approaching the mid‑40s once differing compilations are reconciled; however, this is an evidence-limited estimate, not a final accounting, because of overlapping categories, delayed disclosures, and unresolved investigations noted across Reuters, The Guardian, ICE records and advocacy analyses [2] [1] [3] [8] [4]. Where sources disagree, this report highlights both the minimum confirmed counts and the institutional reasons why the true toll may change as investigations, medical examiner rulings and congressional disclosures proceed [6] [10].