How many deaths during USA forcible deportation between 2025 and 2026

1. What the available counts actually measure — custody vs. enforcement

Most authoritative public counts cited in contemporary reporting enumerate deaths that occurred while people were in ICE custody (detainees who died in facilities, hospitals to which they were referred, or during medical transfers), a category that reached a two‑decade high in 2025; these custody counts do not uniformly include deaths that happened during street enforcement actions, shootings by agents, or deaths of family members indirectly linked to enforcement policies, and the available sources make those distinctions explicit ^{[1] [3] [4]}.

2. How many deaths in ICE custody in 2025

Multiple outlets reported that 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detention in roughly two decades: Reuters and other outlets report “at least 30” deaths in ICE custody in 2025 ^{[1] [3]}, while The Guardian and some aggregated lists put the figure around 31–32 deaths for the calendar/fiscal year, with independent trackers and the American Immigration Council describing 2025 as the highest non‑COVID year toll ^{[2] [5] [6]}.

3. Early 2026: immediate continuation of fatalities

Reporting for January 2026 documents additional deaths shortly after the new year: Reuters counted four migrants who died in ICE custody in the first 10 days of January 2026 (Jan. 3–9) and later noted that at least six people had died in ICE detention centers since the start of 2026 as of Jan. 25 ^{[1] [3]}. Those early‑January fatalities indicate the elevated 2025 trend carried straight into 2026.

4. Deaths during enforcement operations and other related fatalities

Beyond custody tallies, some high‑profile deaths occurred during enforcement operations or shootings involving ICE agents — for example, reporting notes the fatal shooting of Renée Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis in early January 2026, an incident treated separately from custody death lists and that has prompted protests and investigations ^{[7] [1]}. Because press counts typically separate in‑custody deaths from deaths during arrests or operations, totals that aim to encompass “forcible deportation” effects must add these disparate figures explicitly; sources do not present a single consolidated number that merges all categories ^{[1] [3]}.

5. Best practicable bottom line and limits of reporting

Using conservative, contemporaneous counts from major outlets and agency notices, the defensible, documented minimum is roughly 30–32 deaths in ICE custody during 2025 plus at least 4–6 additional ICE‑custody deaths in January 2026 — a combined floor of about 34–38 deaths linked to ICE detention across 2025 and the first weeks of 2026 ^{[2] [1] [3]}. If deaths during enforcement actions (such as the ICE agent shooting of Renée Good) are added — and different outlets vary in whether and how they fold those into “forcible deportation” tallies — the total of fatalities tied to U.S. immigration enforcement activity for that span rises further, but sources do not provide a single reconciled aggregate and therefore any higher figure must be treated as an estimate rather than a confirmed count ^{[7] [3]}.

6. Why the numbers differ and what to watch next

Discrepancies stem from differing definitions (custody deaths vs. enforcement‑action deaths), lagging agency reporting, and independent trackers using press releases and local reporting to update lists; advocacy groups argue the death toll reflects policy choices that expanded detention and reduced oversight, while government releases typically report individual incidents and open investigations without always reconciling totals — readers should therefore treat any single number as provisional and follow ICE press releases, investigative media tallies, and independent death lists for updates ^{[8] [6] [5]}.