Official records and case files show a marked increase in deaths in U.S. immigration detention centers since January 2025, a period in which detained populations swelled after policy shifts and stepped-up enforcement. The data, processed by the Vera Institute of Justice and obtained by the Deportation Data Project through a public records request, list 50 deaths in custody since the start of the administration’s mass deportation campaign in January 2025.
Between 2009 and 2024, detention facilities recorded an average annual death rate equivalent to one death for every 3,848 detainees, based on the facilities’ average daily population. Preliminary data through early June shows that rate more than doubled after January 2025, to about one death for every 1,630 people, according to the records and analysis.
Key data and context
- 50 detainee deaths recorded since January 2025.
- 2009-2024 historical rate: roughly one death per 3,848 detainees.
- Preliminary rate through early June after January 2025: roughly one death per 1,630 detainees.
- ICE detained roughly 40,000 immigrants when the current administration took office; that number rose from a Biden-era low of about 14,000 in February 2021.
- Detention populations peaked near 70,000 in January before falling back to about 57,000 as of early June.
Those figures do not explain why each death occurred, and causes can be complex and multifaceted. Still, a review of available records, death reports and autopsies by three experts who study detention fatalities highlighted patterns and individual cases that they said suggest shortcomings in medical oversight, chronic-disease management and timely emergency care in some facilities.
Medical conditions and mental health crises are among the causes documented in the records. Heart attacks and cardiovascular issues were cited in 16 deaths in the dataset, while experts said at least 21 of the 50 deaths involved detainees who were found unresponsive or already deceased - including 10 suicides. The reviewers said those findings raise particular concern about ongoing physical- and mental-health supervision and the promptness of emergency responses.
Voices from the medical reviewers
Sanjay Basu, an associate physician at the University of California, San Francisco who has studied ICE detention deaths, said the combination of a rising death rate and cases found unresponsive or already deceased points to possible failures in supervision and timely care. Chanelle Diaz, an assistant professor of medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said the records and data indicate the agency is detaining people who are medically vulnerable and that the result appears to be a spike in preventable deaths. Diaz noted the system is not structured for ongoing chronic-care management and that some of those who died - including at least two detainees who had dementia - presented minimal public-safety risk.
Detailed case narratives reflected in ICE records
The records include detailed accounts of several deaths that illustrate the concerns raised by experts.
Tuan Van Bui, a 55-year-old Vietnamese man with a history of cardiovascular problems and a stroke in late 2023, arrived at the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana - a facility informally nicknamed the Speedway Slammer by the administration - on November 19. According to ICE records, he had been prescribed medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol in August after being detained and later filed a federal petition seeking release on the grounds that detention was worsening his health.
ICE records state that in March a physician diagnosed Bui with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, though the report did not provide further detail. On April 1 he collapsed. Fellow detainees told investigators that they called to a guard for help and that an Iraqi detainee, Ibrahim Ibrahim, began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation using skills he said he had learned while working as a translator during the Iraq War.
Three detainees who described the events said a guard arrived about 15 minutes after Bui collapsed and that medical staff came roughly 10 minutes after the guard. Federal immigration detention standards call for a four-minute emergency-response time. An ICE report on Bui’s death describes staff initiating CPR, delivering defibrillation and contacting emergency medical services before a supervising physician declared him dead around 6 p.m. The local coroner attributed Bui’s death to natural causes related to cardiovascular disease.
Bui’s stepdaughter, Ly Wang, said the family had feared deportation but had not anticipated his death in custody. The Department of Homeland Security said staff immediately initiated life-saving measures and immediately contacted emergency services personnel, who swiftly responded, and noted that comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout their stay.
Another case involved Santos Reyes Banegas, a Honduran man who died at the Nassau County Correctional Center on Long Island, New York. According to ICE intake records, a nurse documented signs of alcohol withdrawal at 11:22 a.m. on September 17, 2025. Two hours later a doctor noted tremors and prescribed medications for withdrawal, though the written report did not identify any specific medication nor confirm whether prescribed drugs were administered. The following morning, at 6:25 a.m., Reyes was found unresponsive in his cell and was declared dead 20 minutes later.
Michele Heisler, medical director at Physicians for Human Rights, cited the Banegas report as an example of limited detail in some death records. She pointed out that timely hospital care can reduce the life-threatening risks of withdrawal and questioned why Reyes was not sent to an emergency department. The Department of Homeland Security said the death remains under investigation and that the preliminary cause appears to be liver failure complicated by alcoholism. A New York State attorney general’s investigation, according to a spokesperson, found that the officer on duty did not cause Reyes’ death.
At the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, staff discovered the body of 32-year-old Chaofeng Ge hanging in a shower stall early on August 5. Records indicate he had been transferred to the immigration facility less than a week earlier after spending seven months jailed pending trial on fraud charges involving $154.62 in gift cards.
Records from the Dauphin County Prison where Ge had been held show he attempted suicide by hanging on January 25 of the previous year and was treated at a medical center with a summary that said, 'Patient should be monitored for suicidal ideation/plan.' A social worker two days later noted signs of depression and bipolar disorder in a suicide-risk assessment, and a psychiatrist prescribed an antipsychotic and later an antidepressant. Tom Weber, chief executive of PrimeCare Medical, the company that provided medical services at the county prison, said the facility had supplied those records to ICE when Ge was transferred, though Reuters could not independently confirm delivery of the records.
ICE said in a press release on Ge’s death that he arrived without medical records from his previous incarceration. The agency’s death report said a nurse conducting an intake interview through an interpreter recorded that Ge reported no past medical or mental health conditions and no current prescriptions and placed him in the general population. The central Pennsylvania pathologist who performed the autopsy noted a history of psychiatric problems in the report. The GEO Group, the private contractor operating the Moshannon center, referred questions to ICE.
Another individual who died in custody was Mohammad Paktiawal, who was detained on March 13 in a Dallas suburb while taking five of his six children to school. ICE records show he was transferred to a hospital the same day for shortness of breath and chest pain. The next morning, hospital staff observed a swollen tongue and administered an allergy medication; life-saving measures began three minutes later and he was later pronounced dead.
Records released so far did not indicate a deficiency in emergency care for Paktiawal, according to the expert reviewers. His brother said the family is awaiting additional answers from ICE and the Dallas County medical examiner about the cause of death. Paktiawal had been evacuated with his family by the U.S. military during the Taliban takeover and had applied for asylum, his brother said. A series of criminal charges and arrests related to alleged misuse of food stamps and attempted theft were included in public records; ICE’s press release confirming his death highlighted those criminal charges.
Data limitations and reporting gaps
The experts who reviewed the administration’s death reports noted that the documents filed during the current period generally contain less detail about the circumstances surrounding each death than earlier reports. Many summaries omit critical information such as the detainee’s medical history, the names and dosages of prescribed medications, and specifics about emergency responses and timelines. That lack of detail complicates efforts to determine whether deaths were preventable or if standards were followed in individual cases.
For example, Heisler highlighted that the Banegas report did not specify which medications were prescribed for alcohol withdrawal or confirm their administration, limiting the ability to assess whether medical staff took appropriate steps at intake and during the course of deterioration. Similarly, ICE’s account of Bui’s death did not include detainees’ accounts that an unarmed fellow detainee had begun CPR before facility staff arrived.
Population dynamics and enforcement changes
The number of people held in immigration detention rose sharply after the current administration took office, contributing to concerns that larger populations strain the capacity of facilities to provide continuous, individualized medical and mental-health supervision. ICE held roughly 40,000 immigrants when the current administration began, a figure that reflected a rise from a Biden-era low near 14,000 in February 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The detained population spiked to near 70,000 in January amid an enforcement surge in Minneapolis and other areas, before declining to about 57,000 as of early June.
On the first day of the president’s second term the administration rescinded prior guidance that had instructed ICE to consider mitigating factors - including age, health, primary caregiver status and military or public service - before detaining immigrants. Experts point to that policy reversal as part of a broader shift toward detaining a wider cross-section of people, including those who are medically vulnerable.
Agency responses
The Department of Homeland Security declined to provide detailed records of the deaths beyond the summaries included in ICE reports but issued statements emphasizing its commitment to safe, secure and humane detention environments. A DHS spokesperson said comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout their stay.
In some individual cases, DHS has indicated deaths remain under investigation and cited preliminary causes - as in the Banegas case, where DHS referenced apparent liver failure complicated by alcoholism. In other instances, local coroners or state investigations have issued determinations or findings about whether facility staff actions contributed to the death. The New York State attorney general's office, for example, concluded the officer on duty did not cause Banegas’ death, according to a spokesperson.
Experts’ concerns and what they point to
The medical reviewers who examined the available records highlighted several recurring concerns across the cases: initial health screening processes that may miss chronic conditions or mental-health risks; the placement of individuals with known or suspected medical and psychiatric vulnerabilities in general population settings; unclear documentation on prescribed medications and whether they were given; and apparent delays in emergency response in some instances.
Chronic disease - particularly cardiovascular disease - was a common thread in the case reviews. Sixteen deaths in the dataset were attributed to heart attacks or other cardiovascular causes, which experts said suggested potential problems with screening procedures and long-term disease management in detention settings. At least 21 of the deaths were discovered after the detainee was unresponsive or deceased, including 10 suicides, which reviewers said could reflect a lack of ongoing observation and mental-health follow-up.
Implications and remaining questions
The increased death rate documented in the records raises difficult questions about how facilities are managing rapidly expanding populations, whether medical and mental-health staffing and protocols have kept pace, and how accurately and thoroughly deaths are being documented and reviewed. The limitations of the available death reports - including omissions of medication details, emergency timelines and complete medical histories in some cases - hinder public assessment and independent analysis.
Authorities and outside reviewers face the task of reconciling detainee accounts, facility records, autopsy findings and hospital documentation to determine whether systemic problems exist that require remediation. The Department of Homeland Security has said it is committed to safety and humane treatment and that care is provided throughout detainees’ stays, while some outside experts maintain that the pattern of deaths and the cases reviewed point to concerning gaps in oversight and chronic-care management.
Reporting on these deaths relied on ICE death reports and autopsy summaries, facility intake records, and interviews with detainees who witnessed events. The dataset identifying the 50 deaths was obtained by the Deportation Data Project through a public records request and processed by the Vera Institute of Justice.