Were there ice agent shootings in the obama years

1. What the available reporting actually documents

Recent news coverage and investigations compiled here focus on a spate of agent-involved shootings in 2025–2026 and analyses of whether the number of shootings rose under the Trump administration, but the pieces explicitly note that the agencies declined to give numbers that would allow direct comparisons to prior administrations, including Obama’s ^[1]. The Guardian, Reuters, PBS and other outlets cited are squarely reporting on high-profile 2025–26 incidents and public reactions to them rather than cataloguing Obama-era use-of-force incidents by ICE ^{[3] [4] [1]}.

2. Deaths in ICE custody under Obama are documented — but those are not necessarily shootings

Advocacy and oversight reporting cited here documents that 56 people died while in ICE custody during the Obama administration, a figure raised in a 2025 report about detention medical care ^[2]. That number reflects deaths in detention and does not, in the sources provided, translate to or specify lethal use-of-force by ICE agents in the field; the report’s focus is medical neglect and systemic institutional failures, not a roster of agent shootings ^[2].

3. Experts and former officials frame the problem as systemic and politically intensified

A former acting ICE director from the Obama era, John Sandweg, is quoted analyzing recent shootings and warning that operational changes and expedited hiring during a politically driven surge can increase risks and potentially affect use-of-force outcomes; his commentary highlights systemic conditions rather than historical counts for Obama years ^[5]. That perspective suggests increases in force incidents may track with policy shifts and operational tempo, but the supplied reporting does not use that to assert a specific number for the Obama years ^[5].

4. Political narratives and media comparisons complicate retrospective claims

Commentators and partisan actors are using recent shootings to contrast media treatment of ICE in different eras; for example, some have resurfaced Obama-era media segments to imply softer coverage then versus now, a comparison cited in conservative outlets here ^[6]. Meanwhile, former presidents and other political figures have framed recent shootings as part of a larger pattern of aggressive tactics under the current administration, which introduces clear political incentives into how the story is told ^{[7] [8]}.

5. What the sources do not allow this analysis to conclude

None of the provided articles or excerpts furnish a verified, sourced count or list of shootings by ICE agents during the Obama administrations, nor do they claim to. The lack of an agency-provided historical dataset and the sources’ focus on recent incidents mean the question cannot be answered definitively from these documents alone; any assertion that “there were” or “there were not” ICE-agent shootings under Obama would exceed what these sources support ^[1].

6. Bottom line and responsible interpretation

From the reporting supplied: deaths associated with ICE custody under Obama are documented (56 deaths in detention cited), and experts warn that policy and staffing changes affect use-of-force risk, but the materials do not cite or assemble a list of field shootings by ICE during the Obama years and the agencies did not provide comparative data—therefore the supplied reporting cannot confirm or deny that ICE agents conducted shootings during Obama’s presidencies ^{[2] [5] [1]}. Those who assert a clear historical pattern should be asked for primary documentation (agency records, DOJ inquiries, contemporaneous reporting) that is not present in the sources provided here.