Around 50 migrants have died in U.S. immigration detention centres since Donald Trump launched his large-scale campaign to deport undocumented immigrants after returning to the presidency in January 2025, according to data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The death rate in ICE detention has more than doubled under Trump, according to a Reuters analysis of ICE data. From 2009 to 2024, U.S. immigration detention centres recorded one death for every 3,848 detainees annually. Since Trump’s return to the White House, the rate has risen to one death for every 1,630 people, according to preliminary data covering the period up to early June.

Among those who died was a man from Vietnam with heart problems, who collapsed and died at the “Speedway Slammer”, a maximum-security prison in Indiana that has become a symbol of Trump’s immigration policy. At a detention centre in Pennsylvania, a Chinese man who had previously attempted suicide was found hanged in the showers. At a facility in New York, a Honduran man suffering from a rapid heartbeat and convulsions caused by withdrawal symptoms died in his cell without receiving assistance.

The data analysed by Reuters was obtained from the Deportation Data Project and processed by the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit organisation that advocates for reducing incarceration rates.
The causes of death among detainees are complex and are not necessarily the result of negligence or abuse. However, three experts on deaths in custody, who reviewed ICE data and autopsy reports, said the increase in deaths and other findings raised concerns about supervision and medical care in detention centres.

The number of people held in ICE detention has risen sharply since Trump returned to office. Around 40,000 immigrants were in ICE custody when he took office, a major increase from February 2021, during the pandemic, when the number had fallen to 14,000.

The detained population later reached around 70,000 in January 2026, during a major operation to locate undocumented immigrants in Minneapolis, before falling to about 57,000 in early June. According to ICE records, 21 of the 50 deaths were discovered after the detainee had died or lost consciousness. These cases, which include 10 suicides, are particularly concerning because they may point to insufficient monitoring of detainees’ physical and mental health and delays in care, said Sanjay Basu, a physician at the University of California, San Francisco, one of three experts who reviewed the data and records for Reuters.

Cardiac arrests and cardiovascular problems accounted for 16 deaths. Experts said this could indicate problems with initial health screenings and the management of chronic conditions among detainees.
Chanel Diaz, an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said the data showed that ICE had chosen to detain people with vulnerable health conditions, resulting in a “sharp rise in preventable deaths”.

“The system is not designed to manage chronic conditions,” Diaz said, adding that at least two detainees who died had dementia and posed no danger to the public.

“Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive [at detention centres] and throughout their stay,” Lauren Bees, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement to Reuters. The department said it was committed to ensuring “a safe, secure, and humane” detention environment.