As immigrant deaths in custody grow, ICE reduces what details are made public

EXCLUSIVEImmigrationImmigrationAs immigrant deaths in custody grow, ICE reduces what details are made publicThis week, ICE reported the 16th immigrant detainee death in 2026. During all of 2024, 11 people died in custody. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Camp East Montana is a sprawling immigration detention facility on the Fort Bliss military base along the Texas-Mexico border.Paul Ratje / New York Times via Redux fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 15, 2026, 6:17 PM EDTBy Laura StricklerUntil late last year, when an immigrant died in a U.S. detention center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement would release a detailed three-page report on the circumstances. As the number of detainee deaths swelled, those reports have been cut to four-paragraph summaries.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Agency policy had been that ICE notified the public and Congress within two days of a detainee’s death, and then within 90 days all reports about in-custody deaths were posted on ICE's website. The information typically included detailed timelines, with timestamps of medical observations, regular medications, emergency medications administered and the times and causes of death. But starting in mid-December, that changed. When a report is released now, it generally includes a brief synopsis of the circumstances that led up to the death. The Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump has promised to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible, and holding facilities are increasingly overcrowded, hot and plagued by illness. ICE accounts of the conditions in detention facilities often differ dramatically from those of migrants held inside. DHS did not address the changes directly, but it said in a statement that the death rates were a very small percentage of the overall detained population. “All detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opport...