4 dead, 68,000 detained: Inside a deadly US immigration crackdown

Four people have died in ICE custody in early 2026, following a record number of detainee deaths and a sharp expansion of detention last year

The confrontation tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have come under renewed scrutiny following the fatal shooting of protester Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 7. At the same time, ICE data shows that detention itself has proved deadly, with at least four people dying in custody in the first 10 days of 2026, after a year in which detainee deaths reached a 20-year high and the detained population climbed beyond 68,000 people.

 

ICE detention by the numbers

Deaths in ICE custody

 

4 deaths in the first 10 days of 2026

3 deaths announced between January 9–10

 

Age range: 42–68 years

Nationalities: 2 Honduran, 1 Cuban, 1 Cambodian

Deaths linked to heart-related issues: 2

Cases under investigation: 1

 

Record toll in 2025

 

Detainee deaths in 2025: At least 30

Deadliest year since 2004

Combined deaths during 2021–2025: Fewer than 30

 

Detention population surge

 

Average daily detainees at start of 2025: 40,000

Average daily detainees by early December 2025: Over 66,000

Overall increase in 2025: Nearly 75%

Total population cited: More than 68,000

 

Who is being detained

 

Increase in arrests of people with no criminal record: 2,450%

Share without criminal records in January 2025: 6%

Share by December 2025: 41%

 

Scale of expansion

 

Additional detention facilities by December 2025: 100+

Authorised funding through FY2029: $45 billion

Potential system growth: More than threefold over four years

 

Detention without release

 

Deportations versus releases by November 2025: 14+ deportations for every release

Ratio a year earlier: 1 release for every 2 deportations

 

Oversight and medical care

 

DHS civil rights staff cut: 150 to 22

Detention ombudsman staff cut: 110 to 10

Deaths potentially preventable with proper medical care: Up to 95%

 

Deaths in 2026 so far

 

At least four people have died while being held in ICE detention since the start of 2026, according to agency press releases.

 

All four deaths occurred within the first 10 days of the year, with three announced between January 9 and January 10.

 

The men were aged between 42 and 68. Two were nationals of Honduras, one was Cuban and one was Cambodian.

 

ICE attributed two of the deaths to “heart-related health issues”. The causes of death for the remaining two were not clearly specified, with only one listed as being “under investigation”.

 

 

A record number in 2025

 

The deaths come after 2025 became the deadliest year for people held in ICE custody in two decades.

 

At least 30 people died in immigration detention centres last year, the highest number recorded since 2004, a year after the agency was created.

 

The total exceeded the combined number of deaths recorded during the entire Biden administration between 2021 and 2025.

 

According to a report published this week by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the average daily number of people in ICE detention rose by nearly 75 per cent in 2025, increasing from around 40,000 at the start of the year to more than 66,000 by early December.

 

The report notes that Congress has authorised $45 billion for immigration detention through fiscal year 2029, warning that the system could more than triple in size over the next four years.

 

Who is being detained

 

The report points to a sharp shift in the profile of those being held.

 

Arrests of people with no criminal record rose by about 2,450 per cent during Donald Trump’s first year back in office. The share of detainees without a criminal record increased from 6 per cent in January 2025 to 41 per cent by December.

 

This rise has been driven by tactics such as at-large arrests, roving patrols, worksite raids and the re-arrest of people attending immigration court hearings or ICE check-ins.

 

Conditions inside detention

 

The expansion has also brought changes in where and how people are held.

 

By December 2025, ICE was using more than 100 additional facilities compared with the start of the year. For the first time, thousands of people arrested within the United States were placed in hastily constructed tent camps.

 

The report says conditions in these camps are harsh, adding that more people died in ICE detention in 2025 than in the previous four years combined.

 

Detention without release

 

New policies have reduced opportunities for release while cases are reviewed.

 

The Trump administration has moved to limit access to bond hearings, making prolonged detention the norm for many people, including those who have lived in the United States for decades.

 

By November 2025, for every person released from ICE detention, more than 14 were deported directly from custody. A year earlier, the ratio was closer to one release for every two deportations.

 

Oversight and accountability

 

The report also raises concerns about oversight as detention expands.

 

Staffing at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties fell from 150 to 22, while the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman was reduced from 110 staff to 10.

 

It says fewer checks on ICE’s authority have coincided with aggressive enforcement in cities, leading to preventable harm and deaths.

 

“The Trump administration continues to falsely claim it’s going after the ‘worst of the worst’, but public safety is just a pretext for locking up immigrants and pushing them to abdicate their cases,” said Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council.

 

“Horrific conditions inside detention facilities break people into accepting deportation which fuels the administration’s inhumane deportation quotas and goals,” she said.

 

Lack of appropriate care

 

Medical treatment in detention has long been a concern for external observers.

 

A 2024 report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that up to 95 per cent of deaths in ICE detention could have been prevented with appropriate medical care.

 

“This is a system built to produce deportations, not justice,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.

 

“When detention becomes the default response to immigration cases, the costs are borne by everyone. Families are torn apart, due process is set aside, and billions of taxpayer dollars are wasted on policies that do nothing to increase public safety,” he said.