Dead Immigrants

ICE bloodbath continues as 2026 becomes deadliest year on record

At least 37 people have died in ICE custody since last fall, making 2026 the agency's deadliest year on record as Donald Trump continues his immigration crackdown

Dozens of people have died in ICE custody this year (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
The number of immigrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody has nearly doubled, as 2026 becomes the deadliest year ever for the agency amid the Trump administration's crackdown.

At least 37 people have died in ICE custody since last fall as Donald Trump ramps up his deportation agenda while gutting watchdog offices, Bloomberg reports. “At this rate you’re going to see standards getting lower and lower because the goal is going to be to increase the number of people in detention,” former Department of Homeland Security civil rights official Peter Mina told the outlet.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year, there have been over 60,000 people in immigration detention at any given time.

Thirteen are still pending an autopsy or investigation, five were labeled as presumed suicides and several others involved cardiac arrest, pneumonia, and “suspected natural causes,” according to ICE reports. Lianyong Wei, a citizen of China, was among the most recent deaths.

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He was found “with a bedsheet tied to the top bunk and around his neck” just two days after he was detained at the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Correction.

Another recent death was Carlos Josue Marchena Marchena, a 36-year-old Costa Rican man who is the third detainee to die in less than six months at an ICE facility in Louisiana.

Carlos was found unresponsive on September 18 at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, ICE said in a statement. It said staff began lifesaving measures before he was taken by ambulance to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

His family says he complained of missing insulin shots and meals to manage his diabetes prior to his death. His sister, his girlfriend and a detainee held in the cell beside Marchena’s told The Associated Press that he complained of missed meals and shots and not drinking enough water to control his type 1 diabetes as he was moved between facilities in multiple states.

Marchena’s condition worsened after he arrived at Winn, and he died less than a week later, his family said. The official cause of death is pending further medical examination.

The correctional center had recently been found to have fallen short of federal standards, including for medical care, by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. Two other ICE detainees have died at the complex since April.

Marchena is at least the 58th ICE detainee to die since Trump returned to office in January 2025. Immigrant advocates say the deaths are a sign that authorities are failing to properly oversee the detention of tens of thousands of immigrants swept up in the administration’s aggressive deportation strategy.

ICE said Marchena’s medical care was appropriate. “Marchena received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals,” an agency statement said.

Scott Sutterfield, a spokesperson for LaSalle Corrections, the contractor managing the facility with the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office, said the death is under review and declined to answer questions. He said the company is committed to “the highest standards of care.”

Medical examiners and coroners have ruled diabetes was a contributing factor in at least six of the ICE detainees’ deaths during Trump’s second presidency. Detainees with diabetes have frequently complained in court filings of inconsistent access to insulin and other medications.

The deaths come amid mounting scrutiny of ICE detention facilities and whether they are medically neglecting detainees and forcing them to live in inhumane conditions, charges that ICE denies.