Ice death rate between obama and trump
Executive summary
A straight head‑to‑head on ICE deaths shows more reported deaths under the Trump administrations than under Obama, but the comparison is clouded by rising detention populations, incomplete reporting and agency practices that can reduce the official counts; the ACLU/NICJ report counts 56 deaths during the Obama years while watchdogs and NGOs record at least 70 reported deaths since 2017 and a surge in 2025 that made that year the deadliest in two decades [1] [2] [3]. Any simple “rate” comparison must therefore be treated as provisional because ICE’s reporting, releases of seriously ill detainees and changing detention totals distort apples‑to‑apples calculation [2] [4].
1. What the raw tallies show: higher reported deaths under Trump
Advocates and watchdogs document a clear increase in reported detainee deaths after 2016: the ACLU/Detention Watch Network/National Immigrant Justice Center reported 56 deaths in ICE custody during the Obama administration [1], while oversight summaries note that ICE has reported about 70 deaths since January 1, 2017 [2] and major reporting showed 32 deaths in 2025 alone, making that year the deadliest since 2004 [3] [4].
2. Why “rate” matters — and why it’s hard to calculate accurately
A meaningful comparison requires dividing deaths by the number of people detained (the detainee population and turnover), but public sources do not provide consistent annualized denominators and ICE has acknowledged practices that undercount deaths — for example, releasing seriously ill detainees prior to death and failing to include some deaths in congressional reports — which reduce the official death totals and complicate rate calculations [2] [4].
3. Detention levels climbed under Trump, pushing raw numbers up
Multiple analyses and reporting note that detention levels surged under the second Trump administration — the detained population rose almost 50% and facilities often exceeded contractual capacity — which increases the expected number of deaths even if per‑person risk were unchanged [4]. The Guardian reported ICE was holding roughly 68,440 people in mid‑December 2025, with nearly 75% lacking criminal convictions, a larger base that helps explain higher absolute deaths [3].
4. Causes and preventability: common threads across administrations
Advocates and NGOs conclude many deaths are preventable and tied to medical neglect, overcrowding and poor mental‑health care; ACLU and allied reports say substandard care contributed to deaths across administrations, not only under Trump [1] [5]. American Immigration Council and other groups attribute recent spikes in deaths to overcrowding, reduced oversight and cuts to internal accountability, while ICE’s own reporting and some officials argue operational complexity and the health profiles of detainees also play a role [4] [2].
5. Disputes in interpretation and political framing
Partisan narratives diverge: critics emphasize the higher counts and systemic failures under Trump and the link to policy choices that expanded detention [4] [3], while other outlets and commentators have sought to contextualize or downplay errors by pointing to historical patterns or urging careful use of statistics [6] [7]. Independent audits and GAO findings have added complexity by flagging omissions in ICE’s own reporting and that past administrations also had problematic reporting practices [2] [8].
6. Bottom line and reporting limits
Reported deaths are higher in the Trump era’s recent years than during Obama’s tenure in absolute terms, but a definitive per‑detainee death rate comparison cannot be credibly established from publicly available data because of changing detention volumes, admitted ICE practices that reduce reported deaths, and uneven public records; therefore any numerical “rate” cited here must be qualified as provisional and influenced by reporting gaps [2] [4] [3].