US Trends

how many people were killed by ice in 2025

In 2025, at least about 30 people are reported to have died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it the deadliest year in roughly two decades for ICE detention.

What “killed by ICE in 2025” means

When people discuss how many were “killed by ICE in 2025,” they are usually referring to deaths that occurred while migrants were being detained in ICE facilities, not just shootings or direct uses of force.

These deaths include medical complications, suicide, and other causes that occurred during detention, often amid allegations of neglect or inadequate care.

Best current figures for 2025

  • Multiple news and data analyses state that at least 30 non‑U.S. citizens died in ICE custody in the 2025 calendar year , the highest figure in more than 20 years.
  • Some reporting that follows ICE’s fiscal‑year accounting (October 2024–September 2025) mentions “at least 22” deaths for that fiscal period, reflecting a different way of counting time but pointing to the same deadly trend.

Because government reporting can lag and some cases are still being investigated, most outlets phrase this as “at least” 30 deaths rather than a perfectly final number.

Context and causes

  • Reported causes of death in 2025 ICE custody cases include seizures, heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure, tuberculosis, and suicide, with families and advocates frequently alleging delayed or inadequate medical care.
  • Rights groups argue that overcrowding, poor conditions, and aggressive detention policies under the current administration have contributed to the spike in deaths, while the government maintains that mortality rates are in line with historical averages even as the detained population has grown.

Why numbers differ slightly

  • Different figures (22, 30, 31, 32) appear because:
    • Some counts use the fiscal year (Oct–Sep), others the calendar year (Jan–Dec).
* Some tallies include people killed in attacks on ICE facilities or related incidents; others count only those who died strictly while in detention.

Given current public data, the most defensible short answer is: on the order of 30 people died in ICE custody in 2025, the highest level in about 20 years.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.