Press releases from ICE reveal that a number of people have died in custody in just the first few days of 2026 — immediately following a year when migrant detainee deaths reached a 20-year high, and the number of ICE detentions increased exponentially.
The confrontation tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been in the spotlight since the fatal shooting of protester Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 7.
But data released by the agency shows that immigration detention centers can also be deadly environments for those being held in them.
Press releases from ICE reveal that a number of people have died in custody in just the first few days of 2026 — immediately following a year when migrant detainee deaths reached a 20-year high, and the number of ICE detentions increased exponentially.
More than 68,000 adults were in ICE detention as of the end of December, up from about 36,000 in December 2023, agency data shows.
At least four people have died while being detained by ICE in 2026, according to the agency.
The deaths all occurred in the first 10 days of the year, with three deaths announced in the period from January 9-10.
The migrants, all men, were aged from 42 to 68 years old. Two were nationals of Honduras, one was a Cuban, and the fourth man was a Cambodian.
The deaths of two of the men were attributed to “heart-related health issues,” with the other two causes of death not clearly indicated.
Only one of the latter cases was listed as “under investigation.”
The previous year, 2025, was already the deadliest year for ICE detainees in two decades.
At least 30 people died while being held in immigration detention centers — the highest death toll since 2004, the year after the agency was created.
The 2025 figure represents more than the total number of deaths recorded in ICE custody during the entire Biden administration (2021-2025).
In those four years, 26 people died while in ICE detention, according to data compiled by the American Immigration Lawyers Association from ICE reports.
External observers have raised concerns over the level of medical treatment that detainees receive.
A 2024 report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) concluded that up to 95 percent of deaths in ICE detention could have been prevented with appropriate care.
The report analyzed deaths in ICE custody between 2017 and 2021 by studying thousands of pages of documents obtained through public records requests.
Medical experts who reviewed these documents found widespread evidence of incorrect or inappropriate treatment as well as severely delayed medical care.
Contacted by AFP, ICE did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.
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