In brief
- 52 people died in ICE custody between 20 January 2025 and 4 June 2026, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
- The groups say the annual mortality rate rose by roughly 138–140% as the detained population grew about 77%.
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for independent investigations.
The numbers
In a report published on 25 June 2026, Dying in Detention, HRW and PHR counted 52 deaths in ICE custody between 20 January 2025 and 4 June 2026. They said the detained population rose about 77%, from roughly 40,000 to more than 71,000 by January 2026, and that the annual mortality rate rose by roughly 138–140%.
In June 2026 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, cited 33 deaths in 2025 against 11 in 2024, and 18 in the first five months of 2026. He noted plans to expand capacity to 90,000 and called for independent investigations.
Why it matters
HRW and PHR said ICE did not adequately disclose information in any of the 39 cases they reviewed in detail.
The wider context
On 24 September 2026 Amnesty International called for ICE to be abolished, in a report on the Operation Metro Surge deployment in Minnesota based on about 150 interviews. MPR News reported it as the first time Amnesty has called for abolition of a government agency. DHS, responding, cited the criminal records of people detained in Chicago.
What we don’t know
We have not independently reviewed the underlying records. We did not find a DHS response to the HRW/PHR report in the sources we reviewed; if one has been published, we will add it with its source.
What can be done
HRW, PHR and the UN call for independent investigations of deaths in custody. Readers can read the reports linked below and ask their members of Congress about oversight of immigration detention.
Sources: HRW/PHR, 25 Jun 2026 · OHCHR, Jun 2026 · MPR News, 24 Sep 2026
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