Immigration
Death rate in immigration detention has reached a 22-year-high, raising physicians' concerns

A report in the medical journal JAMA said the most recent spike in deaths took place in a system with “longstanding failures” that were compounded by Trump administration policies.


-------- Detainees wait to be processed inside an immigration detention facility in Texas 2007.Paul J. Richards / AFP via Getty Images

April 16, 2026, 11:02 AM EDT / Updated April 16, 2026, 1:50 PM EDT
By Daniella Silva

Physicians said Thursday that new research on deaths in ICE custody showed that “systemic weakness” in medical care at the agency has become more serious in the past two decades. Meanwhile, the number of people in immigration detention has soared and conditions have worsened during the Trump administration, with the death rate during part of this fiscal year reaching a 22-year high based on information starting in 2004.

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