HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — A recent report has revealed that since President Donald Trump assumed office for a second term, over 52 individuals have died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Titled “Dying in Detention,” the report from the nonprofit organization Physicians for Human Rights was released on Thursday. It highlights a significant surge in the mortality rate within ICE facilities during Trump’s second term, marking the highest in more than a decade. This rate has more than doubled compared to the start of his presidency and is almost four times higher than under the Biden administration.
The analysis is based on data collected between January 20, 2025, and June 4.
Latest death in ICE custody
Since June 4, there have been additional deaths among migrants in ICE detention, further emphasizing the ongoing concerns.
This includes the June 19 death of a 63-year-old Mexican national at the Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, Texas. ICE reported on Wednesday that Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez “was found unresponsive” at the detention center, and medical emergency services were called and lifesaving measures were employed. He was taken to a local hospital where he pronounced dead. His death is the 20th death in ICE custody this year.
Alcorta had been taken into custody by ICE officials on June 16 after being released by the Webb County Jail. He had been initially arrested on May 9 due to an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court for a Feb. 5, 2018, driving while intoxicated arrest, ICE officials said.
Report criticizes ‘aggressive’ detention campaign
The Physicians for Human Rights report says the Trump administration’s “aggressive campaign to expand immigration detention” has pushed detention facilities and staff to their limits — reaching a high of 71,000 incarcerated in January 2026.
However, the report says “the surge in deaths is much worse than what one would expect even considering the much higher number of people in detention. Deaths in ICE custody have increased at a rate disproportionate to the growth in the detained population.”
The 72-page report says there were 39 deaths reported in the first 12 months of Trump’s second term, from Jan. 20, 2025, to Jan 19, 2026. That’s a 140% increase in deaths in ICE custody from the same time the previous year.
“People are dying in ICE custody at the highest rate in many years, even after accounting for the surge in detention,” said Brian Root, senior technology and human rights adviser at Human Rights Watch. “DHS and Congress should act immediately to reduce the number of people in detention and to overhaul conditions, including by ensuring access to adequate health care in line with the United States’ human rights obligations.”
The deaths included that of a 44-year-old man from Ukraine who suffered a stroke; a 39-year-old Mexican citizen who reportedly died from a cardiac arrest that Physicians for Human Rights assessed likely arose from overwhelming septic shock; and a 32-year-old man who died in 2025 following a COVID-19 diagnosis and 12 days in isolation, the report says.
The report also criticizes the agency for not releasing enough information on the individual deaths, and says oversight of these detention facilities is hindered because of a lack of transparency.
“ICE so severely limits the information it provides to Congress, families, and the public that oversight is nearly impossible,” said Dr. Katherine Peeler, the report’s co-author, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights. “In the cases where we do have access to ICE and outside hospital records, we are seeing a breathtaking breach of the duty of care.”
ICE says one of its highest priorities is detained migrant health care and that its national detention standards require facilities to provide comprehensive medical, dental and mental health care from the moment migrants arrive at a facility and throughout their time in ICE custody.
“Many aliens may not have received recent or reliable medical treatment for existing conditions prior to entering ICE custody,” the agency says on its website. “For some individuals, this may represent their first access to comprehensive medical care.”
ICE says it is agency policy to notify the relevant parties and report the death of any detainee in a “timely, accurate and appropriate manner,” adding that it notifies next of kin, appropriate consulates, relevant DHS and ICE stakeholders, U.S. Congress and the public about each detainee death.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.