The number of people dying inside US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities has reached levels not seen in over two decades. In 2025, ICE recorded 31 to 33 deaths in custody, the highest total since 2004. In 2026, the pace has accelerated further. As of early May 2026, at least 18 people have died in ICE custody in the first four months of the year alone, a rate of roughly one death every six days. If the current trend continues, 2026 is on track to surpass the all-time record.
This article compiles the available data, explains what is driving the surge, and documents what has been reported about conditions inside the facilities where these deaths are occurring.
The Numbers: Deaths in ICE Custody by Year
To understand the current crisis, it helps to see where 2026 sits in historical context.
According to government data and analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation:
- 2019: 9 deaths reported
- 2020: 18 deaths (elevated during COVID-19 pandemic)
- 2021: 5 deaths
- 2022: 3 deaths
- 2023: 7 deaths
- 2024: 11 deaths
- 2025: 31 to 33 deaths, the highest since 2004 and the deadliest year in over two decades. December 2025 was the single deadliest month on record, with 7 deaths in that month alone
- 2026 (through early May): At least 18 deaths reported, putting the year on pace to far exceed 2025
ICE is legally required to report deaths within 48 hours of occurrence and to publish detailed reports within 90 days. Senators and advocacy organizations have raised concerns about compliance with both timelines under the current administration. A letter from 22 US senators to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE acting director Todd Lyons noted that of 49 deaths reported since January 2025, ICE issued an interim death notice within 48 hours in only 15 cases.
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Who Has Died and Where
The deaths in 2026 have spanned facilities across multiple states and involved people from a range of countries and backgrounds.
January 2026 saw six deaths inside ICE detention facilities in Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and California. One case was ruled a homicide by local authorities. Among those who died that month was Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old father from Cuba who died at the Camp East Montana facility in El Paso, Texas.
February 2026 continued the pattern. A Mexican national, Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano, was found unresponsive at his bunk at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California.
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April 2026 saw the 17th and 18th deaths of the year. Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, a 27-year-old Cuban man held in ICE custody in Miami, died of a presumed suicide. Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old man from Cuba, was found unresponsive at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, also a suspected suicide.
Among the 46 deaths ICE reported between January 2025 and March 2026, as documented by KFF analysis:
- 32 were people with existing medical conditions who experienced worsening health in custody
- 36 deaths occurred among people who had spent three or fewer months in detention
- 38 deaths were among people younger than 65, and 21 were under 45
- 22 deaths were among people from Mexico and Central America, and 10 were among people from Asia
- 6 deaths were among people with no reported criminal history or pending charges
The deaths include an Afghan refugee who had worked alongside American military forces in Afghanistan and a Mexican teenager.
What Conditions Are Like Inside the Facilities
The deaths are occurring against a documented backdrop of overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and deteriorating conditions inside ICE detention facilities, which have expanded rapidly to accommodate the surge in detained individuals.
Camp East Montana, El Paso, Texas has been one of the most troubled facilities. The tented detention center opened at Fort Bliss and experienced three detainee deaths in less than six weeks after opening. One was ruled a homicide. The facility also saw outbreaks of both tuberculosis and measles. DHS changed contractors at the facility just seven months after it opened.
The Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, a privately operated facility, has been the site of multiple deaths in 2026 and has faced longstanding complaints about medical care and conditions.
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The Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California has also documented deaths and been subject to legal action.
The ACLU published a detailed account of the death of Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old Haitian immigrant who entered the US through a parole program. Damas reportedly sought care repeatedly over the course of a week for a severe, escalating tooth infection. He received only ibuprofen. His condition deteriorated into septic shock and he died. The ACLU described his death as preventable.
Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at Detention Watch Network, told Democracy Now in April 2026: “I have never seen anything like this, where I’m seeing ICE reporting out at least one death per week. People are reaching the point of emergency for issues that could easily be dealt with if proper medical care was given.”
The Medical Care Problem
ICE contracts with third-party companies to provide medical care inside its detention facilities. Advocates and legal organizations have documented what they describe as systemic failures in how that care is delivered.
A lawsuit filed against ICE alleges that the agency delayed providing cancer care medication for an extended period during a transfer between facilities in 2025. Another lawsuit brought in Illinois alleges inadequate medical care at a facility there.
A Senate letter from 22 senators noted that ICE had reportedly not paid its third-party medical providers since October 2025, which advocates say contributed to the denial of medical care and essential treatment for people in custody.
In March 2026, local officials in California filed a lawsuit to gain access to ICE facilities and conduct public health inspections after being denied access. Maryland filed a separate lawsuit to obtain records detailing conditions at a Baltimore immigration detention facility after investigations revealed multiple issues, including denial of medical care.
A federal court had previously issued an order requiring ICE to restore the Office of Detention Oversight, which investigated issues of neglect and mistreatment in ICE facilities. The oversight office had been significantly reduced under the current administration.
The Government’s Response
The Trump administration has disputed characterizations of a systemic failure. DHS stated to NPR that as of April 16, 2026, “death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.009% of the detained population,” attributing the higher raw numbers to the much larger number of people detained overall.
Acting ICE director Todd Lyons, when asked at a congressional hearing how many deaths had occurred and about delays in public reporting, said: “No death is what we want. We don’t want anyone to die in custody.” He acknowledged that reporting timelines had not always been met and said ICE was working on compliance.
DHS has repeatedly stated that its detention facilities meet required health and safety standards. That position is contested by lawmakers, legal organizations, and facility inspectors who have found conditions they describe as inadequate in multiple facilities.
What Congress Has Done
Twenty-two US senators signed a letter in February 2026 to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE director Todd Lyons demanding accountability for the rising death toll and requesting answers to specific questions about medical screening, suicide prevention procedures, and oversight.
The senators wrote: “This rapidly increasing number of deaths is a clear byproduct of the Trump administration’s dangerous and poorly executed mass deportation agenda, one focused on detaining as many immigrants as possible, not just the worst of the worst, for extended periods of time.”
The letter also condemned the administration for requiring members of Congress to give ICE seven days advance notice before detention visits, a policy a federal court subsequently blocked as unlawful.
Mexico’s government has also weighed in formally. At a news conference, Vanessa Calva Ruiz, the director general of consular protection at Mexico’s foreign ministry, stated: “Four Mexican nationals have died, apparently due to medical complications, highlighting a pattern of persistent structural deficiencies. The recurrence and frequency of these deaths are absolutely unacceptable.”
The Broader Context: Record Detention Numbers
The deaths are occurring inside a detention system that has expanded at unprecedented speed. Detentions under the Trump administration are up more than 70% compared to the first year of the Biden administration. The detained population peaked at more than 70,000 earlier in 2026 before decreasing somewhat as ICE scaled back operations in some major cities, but the population remained around 60,000 as of mid-2026.
The expansion has involved rapid conversion of facilities, including former industrial warehouses, into immigration detention centers. Advocacy organizations have documented concerns about whether these facilities are equipped to handle the medical needs of large detained populations.
Even after accounting for the size of the detained population, the death rate in 2025, at 5.6 deaths per 10,000 detainees, was the highest since 2020 when COVID-19 hit detention facilities. The 2026 rate, if it continues at the current pace, will exceed that figure.
The Bottom Line
At least 18 people have died in ICE custody in the first four months of 2026. That follows 31 to 33 deaths in 2025, the highest annual total in over two decades. At the current pace, 2026 is on track to exceed the all-time record set in 2004.
The deaths span multiple facilities and involve people with a range of immigration histories, including those with no criminal record. Documented causes include medical emergencies that advocates say were preventable, suicide, and at least one case ruled a homicide.
The combination of record detention numbers, rapid facility expansion, contracted medical care, and reduced oversight has created conditions that multiple lawsuits, congressional letters, and federal court orders are now attempting to address.
