ICE custody deaths have hit a record high, with 52 people dying in the custody of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first 500 days of President Donald Trump's second term, according to a Human Rights Watch report. Researchers say the mortality rate is the highest in immigration detention in more than a decade. The Department of Homeland Security has rejected the findings.

Key Points

• Human Rights Watch counted 52 deaths in ICE custody in the first 500 days of President Trump's second term (20 January 2025 to 4 June 2026), with the mortality rate more than doubled since he returned to office.
• At least 62 people have died in ICE custody since Mr Trump's return, per the San Francisco Chronicle, including 33 in 2025 alone, the highest annual total since ICE began in 2003.
• An Associated Press review of 51 deaths since January 2025 found nearly a fifth were suicides, all men, average age 32, and 70 per cent had no violent-crime record in the United States.
• ICE's own reviewers found healthcare deficiencies in 23 of 29 internal death reports; in only three did they conclude the failings did not directly contribute to the death.
• ICE confirmed in early June it would stop reporting deaths shortly after release, reversing a Biden-era rule requiring deaths within 30 days of release to be reported to Congress.

What Happened

The Human Rights Watch report puts the death toll at 52 and the mortality rate at its highest level in over a decade. The rate has more than doubled since Mr Trump's second term began, running at nearly four times the rate under the Biden administration and more than two and a half times higher than during Mr Trump's first term.

Other counts put the toll higher still. The San Francisco Chronicle, tracking deaths independently, has recorded at least 62 people dying in ICE custody since Mr Trump's return, including 33 deaths in 2025 alone, the highest annual figure since ICE was created in 2003.

The Associated Press examined 51 deaths since January 2025 and found nearly a fifth of the dead had taken their own lives, all men, average age 32, and 70 per cent had no record of violent crime in the United States. It found contractors and county jail partners systematically violated ICE's standards, ignoring mental-health red flags, skipping required 12-hour intake screenings and leaving suicidal detainees unmonitored.

Background and Context

ICE was created in 2003, and its detention network mixes agency-run facilities, private prisons and county jails, a model long criticised by medical experts. What has changed under the second Trump administration is scale: the detention population hit a record high of more than 71,000 in January 2026.

ICE's own standards require medical screening within 12 hours of arrival, mental-health assessments and monitoring for detainees at risk of self-harm. The Associated Press found those requirements were repeatedly missed. Transparency has also narrowed: under a Biden-era rule, deaths within 30 days of release had to be investigated and disclosed to Congress, but ICE confirmed in early June it would stop reporting them, so some deaths linked to detention may now never be counted.

ICE Custody Deaths: What the Agency's Own Reviews Found

The most striking evidence comes not from campaigners but from ICE itself. In 29 internal death reports obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, the agency's own reviewers found healthcare deficiencies in 23 cases, a failure rate of nearly four in five. In only three cases did reviewers conclude the deficiencies had not directly contributed to the death.

Suicide accounts for a striking share of the toll: nearly one in five of the 51 deaths examined by the Associated Press was a suicide, every one a man, average age just 32. The finding challenges the official framing of the deaths as unavoidable, and points directly at mental-health care inside detention, where isolation and long periods in custody are known risk factors.

Reactions and Quotes

The Department of Homeland Security has firmly rejected the findings. In a statement, the department said: "There has been NO spike in deaths" and put the death rate at 0.008 per cent of the detained population, arguing the figures must be read against the far larger number of people now held.

Human Rights Watch frames the deaths as a systemic problem rather than isolated incidents, pointing to record detention numbers, stretched medical provision and weaker oversight. The June decision to stop reporting deaths shortly after release has drawn criticism from transparency advocates, who say it removes a safeguard introduced so deaths connected to detention could not pass unnoticed. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court heard arguments over whether the administration can bar lawmakers from surprise visits to ICE detention centres. Read our report on the detention-centre visits case here.

Why It Matters

The death toll matters because detention is a civil matter, not a criminal punishment. Most of the people who died were held while their immigration cases were decided, and most of those who died by suicide had no record of violent crime in the United States. When people die in state custody, the state bears a particular responsibility to explain why.

It also matters because of scale: with more than 71,000 people in detention at the start of the year, even a small failure rate puts many lives at risk, and if deaths shortly after release are no longer counted, the official toll will understate the true human cost. Cases such as a Wisconsin state trooper freed under supervision this month show how closely detention decisions are now watched. Read our report on the Wisconsin trooper's release here.

What Happens Next

The immediate question is whether Congress will press for the data behind the figures, including the full set of internal death reviews. Whether the June reporting change is reversed, by the administration or by legislation, will determine how complete future counts are, and rights groups are expected to keep tracking deaths independently.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people have died in ICE custody under President Trump?
Human Rights Watch counted 52 deaths in the first 500 days of the second Trump term (20 January 2025 to 4 June 2026). The San Francisco Chronicle has recorded at least 62, including 33 in 2025 alone.

How does the death rate compare with previous administrations?
It has more than doubled since the second Trump term began: nearly four times the Biden-era rate and more than two and a half times the first Trump term's, the highest in over a decade.

What did ICE's own reviews find?
In 29 internal death reports, ICE's own reviewers found healthcare deficiencies in 23 cases; in only three did they conclude the failings had not directly contributed to the death.

Why did ICE stop reporting some deaths?
ICE confirmed in early June it would stop reporting deaths soon after release, reversing a Biden-era rule requiring deaths within 30 days of release to be reported to Congress.

What has the Department of Homeland Security said?
The department rejected the findings, saying: "There has been NO spike in deaths" and putting the death rate at 0.008 per cent of the detained population.