DHS has pushed back on claims that deaths in ICE custody have increased, accusing the media of trying to “smear“ agents.
The Department of Homeland Security has pushed back on claims that deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody have increased, disputing reports that suggest a rise. “Yet again, the media is trying to twist data to smear ICE law enforcement.
There has been NO spikes in deaths,“ Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the agency, told Newsweek. “Consistent with data over the last decade, death rates in custody are 0.00007%. As bed space has expanded, we have maintained higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens—including providing access to proper medical care,“ she added. The La Salle Detention Facility is seen in Jena, La., Friday, June 20, 2025. Why It Matters There have been growing concerns over medical care, oversight and conditions inside ICE detention centers. Immigrant rights advocates and progressive lawmakers have alleged systemic problems, including inadequate access to medical treatment and overcrowding. It comes amid an increase in immigration arrests under the administration as federal agencies race to carry out President Donald Trump's pledge to remove millions of migrants without legal status. DHS disputes claims of failures in ICE custody, saying it adheres to established medical protocols. What To Know Andrew Free, a former immigration and civil rights lawyer who tracks deaths in ICE custody, told Newsweek he had documented 32 in-custody deaths so far this year. Based on those figures, advocates described 2025 as one of the deadliest years on record for ICE detention. However, DHS disputes the characterization of a surge and says overall death rates remain consistent with prior years when measured against detention population size. It comes after four deaths in ICE custody occurred within four days, according to several press releases. “All detainees shall have access to appropriate medical, dental, and mental health care, including emergency services,“ according to a 2025 ICE policy paper reviewed by Newsweek. ICE has faced a strain of resources as it works with limited detention capacity while attempting to meet the administration's lofty enforcement goals. Facilities in several regions have operations near or at capacity, increasing pressure on staffing and medical services for detainees. While the GOP-controlled Congress passed legislation to allocate additional funding to the agency to expand bed space and operational resources, advocates warn that rapid scaling of detention without corresponding investments in health care, monitoring and accountability could exacerbate existing challenges within the system. As of November 30, 2025, 65,735 people were being held in ICE detention, according to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse . In October 2025, ICE booked 41,624 people into detention, with 36,635 arrested by ICE and an additional 4,989 apprehended by Customs and Border Protection agents, per data gathered by TRAC. What People Are Saying Belkis Wille, Associate Director in the Crisis, Conflict, and Arms Division of the Human Rights Watch, told Newsweek: “With this mass increase in people that have been put into the system, that access to medical care has been extremely limited in at least the facilities that we've looked at.“ DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek: “For many illegal aliens, this is the best health care they have received their entire lives.“ “There's no standards of care, there's no accountability,” Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal previously told Newsweek. “And that is very different than even our federal prisons, where there is a different level of accountability, despite the fact that lots of problems there too.“ Tom Homan told reporters on June 30: “I mean, people die in ICE custody. People die in county jails. People die in state prisons.“
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