How many deaths occurred in ICE or Border Patrol custody in 2025 and what were the documented causes?

1. The toll: how many died in ICE custody in 2025, and why that figure is credible

Multiple major outlets and advocacy trackers report that 2025 saw at least 31–32 deaths in ICE detention, with The Guardian, People, Truthout and Reuters each identifying roughly 32 deaths and noting ICE’s own statistics showing 2025 as the deadliest year since 2004 ^{[1] [2] [7] [3]}. That convergence across independent outlets and advocacy groups gives weight to the 32-person figure, although some compilations differ by one or two cases because of classification questions—for example, whether deaths during enforcement encounters outside facilities are counted as “in custody” ^[8].

2. Border Patrol custody: documented cases exist, but a clear 2025 total is not in the record provided

The supplied reporting makes clear that people also died while in Border Patrol custody during this period—including a referenced suicide at a Yuma station and other deaths tied to Border Patrol interactions—but the sources here do not supply a single authoritative, agency-confirmed total for Border Patrol-only custody deaths in calendar-year 2025 ^{[8] [5]}. Congressional correspondence and watchdog groups have previously raised figures for Border Patrol deaths in other windows, but those counts are not reconciled into a definitive 2025 Border Patrol death total within the material provided ^[8].

3. Documented causes of death reported by media and advocacy groups

Reporting across outlets lists multiple documented or alleged causes: at least three apparent suicides among ICE detainees reported by advocacy groups (including one described as found with a blanket wrapped around his neck) ^[4]; deaths attributed to medical conditions such as liver failure described in ICE releases (ICE labeled one detainee’s preliminary cause as liver failure “complicated by alcoholism,” a conclusion contested by the family) ^[2]; deaths tied to drug withdrawal and severe medical distress (reporting on early-2026 deaths notes withdrawal as a cause in a detention hospital case, illustrating the kind of medical complications seen in custody) ^[9]; and deaths from gunshot wounds or use-of-force encounters involving immigration agents—independent trackers and press accounts document multiple shootings by agents in the second half of 2025, some of which resulted in fatalities ^{[5] [7]}. In at least one case discussed in later coverage, an autopsy or investigative reporting characterized a death in an ICE facility as a homicide and placed it under active review ^[6].

4. Patterns, accountability, and contested narratives

Advocacy organizations and watchdogs emphasize systemic drivers—crowding, inadequate medical care, rapid expansion of detention capacity, and reduced humanitarian releases—that they say contributed to the spike in deaths in 2025 ^{[3] [10]}. ICE statements repeatedly assert provision of comprehensive medical care and describe many causes as medical or under investigation, and agency tallies underpin the “deadliest year since 2004” characterization ^{[7] [2]}. Independent observers note contested classifications (whether an incident counts as “in custody”), limited transparency about cause-of-death determinations, and scant criminal accountability for officers involved in fatalities ^{[8] [10]}.

5. What the record provided cannot settle

The assembled reporting allows confident statements that at least 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025 and that causes included suicide, medical conditions (including liver failure/alcohol-related complications noted in agency accounts), withdrawal/medical distress, and deaths linked to use-of-force or shootings—but it does not supply a definitive, separately verified total for deaths exclusively in Border Patrol custody during 2025, nor does it provide full, final autopsy results or tabulations for every case to adjudicate disputes between families, advocates, and agency preliminaries ^{[1] [8] [4]}.