ACLU: ICE Detention Mortality Rate Has More Than Doubled Under Trump

An ACLU analysis of ICE detainee death reports from 2018 to 2026 found the mortality rate in ICE custody has more than doubled since the first Trump administration and is at its highest point in more than a decade. At least 57 people have died in immigration detention since the start of the second term — more than double the deaths recorded in the previous four years combined — while ICE holds roughly 70,000 people in more than 200 facilities. The ACLU warns the true toll is higher because DHS cut reporting on deaths shortly after release, such as that of Prisciliano Trejo Ricano.