2025 Marks Deadliest Year for ICE Detainees in Decades with 31 Deaths Recorded
In 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) experienced its deadliest year in decades, with a total of 31 detainee deaths documented. December was notably the deadliest month, accounting for six of these deaths.
At mid-December, ICE was detaining approximately 68,440 individuals, about 75% of whom had no criminal convictions. Causes of death among detainees included seizure, heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure, tuberculosis, and suicide. These deaths occurred either within detention centers or after detainees were transferred to hospitals.
Families and legal representatives of the deceased have alleged neglect in the provision of medical care during detention. Advocates have highlighted deteriorating conditions and an increase in detainee deaths amid expanded enforcement efforts. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE have denied that detention conditions are worsening, stating that medical care is provided from entry and referencing a death rate of 0.00007%, though they have not provided underlying data to support this figure.
Representative cases reflecting the range of origins and circumstances surrounding the deaths in 2025 include Genry Ruiz Guillén, a 29-year-old from Honduras who died on January 23 in a Florida hospital after being detained at the Krome facility; Maksym Chernyak, aged 44 from Ukraine, who died on February 20 in a Miami hospital after detention at Krome; Chaofeng Ge, 32, from China, who died four days after entering custody in Pennsylvania in August; Oscar Rascon Duarte, a 58-year-old from Mexico, who died on September 8 at a long-term medical facility while in ICE custody; and Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, from Mexico, who died on August 31 after being detained at the Florence complex.
These cases illustrate the diverse backgrounds of detainees and the complex circumstances leading to the fatalities during the year.
