The year 2025 became the deadliest for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in more than two decades, with thirty-one people losing their lives while in its custody. The fatalities occurred as the Trump administration significantly expanded immigration enforcement operations, detaining a record number of individuals.
A Record Year of Fatalities Amid Surging Detentions
The death toll, the highest recorded since 2004, coincided with a dramatic increase in the number of people held by ICE. By mid-December, the agency was detaining 68,440 people, with nearly three-quarters of them having no criminal convictions. December itself was the single deadliest month, with six deaths reported.
Those who died came from diverse backgrounds. Some had recently arrived in the United States seeking asylum, while others had lived in the country for years, some having arrived as young children. Their deaths were attributed to causes including heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure, tuberculosis, and suicide. Some died within detention centres, while others passed away in hospitals while still under ICE custody. In numerous cases, families and legal representatives have alleged that medical neglect and failures to provide adequate care contributed to the deaths.
Allegations of Deteriorating Conditions and Official Denials
As detention facilities grew increasingly crowded, human rights advocates, immigration lawyers, and lawmakers reported widespread issues, including unsanitary conditions, inadequate food, and poor medical care. Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at the non-profit Detention Watch Network, stated the deaths were "a result of the deteriorating conditions inside of ICE detention."
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, denied that detention conditions were declining. Agency spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin asserted it was "a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody." She cited an average custody death rate of 0.00007%, consistent with the past decade, but did not provide the underlying data for this figure.
Advocates warned that the policy of mass detention would likely lead to more deaths. "I'm definitely worried that in the coming years, we could see more of this as ICE is trying to expand its facilities, detain and deport more people," Ghandehari said.
The Stories Behind the Statistics
Genry Ruiz Guillén, 29, from Honduras, died in a Florida hospital in January. He had called his mother from the Krome detention centre complaining of fainting spells and feeling unwell.
Maksym Chernyak, 44, a Ukrainian citizen who fled the war, died of an apparent stroke in Miami. A media investigation raised questions about delays in calling emergency services while he was detained at Krome.
Brayan Garzón-Rayo, 27, from Colombia, died in a Missouri jail in April. He had complained to his mother about stomach pains and poor food quality days before his death, which officials suggested was a suicide.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, a longtime US resident and former DACA recipient, died after falling ill at the Adelanto detention centre in California. His mother has called for an end to medical negligence in ICE facilities.
Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, 37, and Miguel Ángel García Medina, 31, were both killed in a shooting at an ICE field office in Dallas in September. García Medina's son was born three days after his death.
Francisco Gaspar-Andrés, 48, from Guatemala, died in an El Paso hospital in December from suspected organ failure after being detained at the controversial Camp East Montana facility at Fort Bliss, described by the ACLU as a "human and civil rights catastrophe."
Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, from Haiti, died just one day after being taken into custody at the Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey, where a senator later reported detainees described receiving "disgusting" meals and poor medical care.
The list of thirty-one individuals spans a wide range of ages, nationalities, and circumstances, united by their deaths under the custody of the US immigration agency during a year of intensified enforcement.
