Overview
- The Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights report, released on June 25, documents at least 52 deaths in ICE custody since January 2025 and estimates the death rate climbed about 140 percent during the first year of the administration’s second term.
- The report links the rise to a roughly 77 percent jump in the average daily detained population, expanded use of contracted facilities, and failures in medical screening and emergency response in multiple reviewed cases.
- DHS and ICE reject the report’s framing, saying deaths remain a tiny fraction of the detained population and that the agency provides appropriate care, while also changing a June policy to stop reporting deaths that occur after detainees leave physical custody.
- The DHS Office of Inspector General opened two reviews on June 25 to examine the increase in detainee deaths and compliance with use-of-force standards, and the U.N. rights office has called for independent investigations into all in-custody deaths.
- Families and medical reviewers say limited disclosure of records and delayed reporting have hindered oversight and accountability, raising calls from advocates and some lawmakers for mandatory independent probes and alternatives to detention to prevent further loss of life.