How many people were killed by ice during Obama administration
Executive summary
Multiple independent reports based on ICE records and FOIA documents count 56 people who died while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during the Obama administration (2009–2017) [1] [2] [3]. Human Rights Watch and internal ICE death-review releases document a subset of those deaths and highlight systemic medical-care failures, underscoring that the tally is drawn from agency records rather than a single external audit [4] ACLU-DWN-NIJC.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[5].
1. The headline figure: 56 deaths documented in ICE custody under Obama
Advocacy groups and news summaries that rely on ICE records and FOIA-extracted mortality reviews report that 56 individuals died while in ICE custody during the Obama years, a number repeated in the Fatal Neglect report produced by the ACLU, Detention Watch Network and the National Immigrant Justice Center and cited in reporting by multiple outlets [1] [3] [2].
2. Where that number comes from and who compiled it
The 56-death figure stems from analysis of ICE’s own death reports and a FOIA-driven compilation presented in the Fatal Neglect report; that document, produced by ACLU, DWN and NIJC, counted 56 deaths across the Obama administration using ICE mortality reviews and other agency records [1] [5]. Independent media summaries and advocacy pieces like those from the American Immigration Council and news outlets repeat the same FOIA-based total [3] [2].
3. What the deaths represent—and what agency reviews show
ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight released death reviews covering a subset of recent deaths (18 reviews addressing 31 deaths since May 2012, according to Human Rights Watch’s reporting), and those reviews identify violations of detention standards and medical-care problems without always concluding whether those deficiencies directly caused death [4]. The Fatal Neglect report uses these reviews and other records to argue systemic neglect contributed to many detainee deaths [5] [1].
4. Patterns, causes and the role of medical care cited by advocates
Advocacy and watchdog reporting highlights recurring causes and patterns: delayed or inadequate medical attention, failures to follow standards, and use of restrictive housing for people with mental-health needs, with several deaths tied to suicides or medical conditions exacerbated by substandard care—claims advanced in Fatal Neglect and highlighted in coverage by Human Rights Watch [5] [4] [3].
5. Limitations, competing counts and the broader record-keeping context
The 56 figure reflects compilations from ICE records and FOIA disclosures, but gaps and inconsistent public reporting have produced different snapshots: ICE’s publicly released death reviews in 2016 covered only part of the total deaths acknowledged by the agency, and watchdogs note that ICE’s documentation and internal investigations do not always determine causation or publicize all findings [4] [5]. Media summaries and databases (including later aggregated lists) corroborate but sometimes differ in scope depending on whether they include Border Patrol custody or field-office deaths, which this 56-count—focused on ICE detention—does not necessarily encompass [4] [6].
6. Bottom line: the number accepted by watchdogs and echoed in reporting
For the specific question of how many people died in ICE custody during the Obama administration, major advocacy reports and subsequent summaries consistently report 56 deaths based on ICE records and FOIA-obtained mortality reviews [1] [3] [2]; human-rights researchers and ICE’s own partial reviews underscore that many of those deaths implicated medical-care failures, even as determinations about direct causation were not always publicly concluded by the agency [4] [5].