'Dying in Detention': Deaths in ICE custody up by 140% under Trump, Human Rights Watch reveals SHOCKING data

The number of deaths inside US immigration detention facilities has risen sharply during President Donald Trump's second term, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights. A 73-page report, titled 'Dying in Detention: Rising Deaths in an Expanding US Immigration Detention System', found that 52 people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during the first 500 days of Trump's return to office. This is a whopping 140 per cent surge from earlier figures. The findings come as the administration has significantly expanded detention operations.

ICE arresting more people than ever

According to the report, the average daily population in ICE facilities jumped by 77 per cent, rising from roughly 40,000 detainees to more than 71,000 within a year. During the same period, the death rate in custody increased by 140 per cent.

What is behind the alarming rise in custody deaths?

Researchers argue that the rise cannot be explained by population growth alone. Instead, they point to what they describe as chronic shortcomings in medical care, inadequate oversight and deteriorating detention conditions.

Several cases highlighted in the report paint a troubling picture.

One involved 44-year-old Ukrainian national Maksym Chernyak, who reportedly suffered a stroke while in custody. Human Rights Watch said delays in medical treatment "almost certainly contributed" to his death.

A protester holding a sign gestures as she tries to block a vehicle from entering Delaney Hall, which is being used as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, in Newark, New Jersey on June 6, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)

Another detainee, 32-year-old Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, died in 2025 after contracting COVID-19 and spending nearly two weeks in isolation. More than a year later, his family was still searching for answers about the circumstances surrounding his death. "Only a mother who has lost her child knows what I am feeling," his mother said. "I want my child, and I can’t do anything."

The report also cites the case of Mohammad Paktiawal, a former member of Afghanistan's special forces who fled the Taliban takeover in 2021. He died in March after being detained in Texas. ICE later identified him as a "criminal illegal alien from Afghanistan with previous arrests for fraud and theft".

Human Rights Watch also found that ICE fails to disclose key information about how such deaths occur. It argues that such deaths raise serious questions about whether the United States is meeting its obligations under international human rights standards, including protections for people held in state custody.

ICE rejects Human Rights Watch report

ICE has rejected the report's conclusions. A spokesperson said death rates remain extremely low compared to the total detained population and insisted that detainees receive appropriate medical care.

"Consistent with data over the last decade, as of May 29, death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.008% of the detained population. As bed space has rapidly expanded, we have maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold US citizens, including providing access to proper medical care. For many illegal aliens, this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives," a spokesperson told Daily Beast.