DHS Watchdog Opens 2 ICE Reviews as 20 Detainees Die in 2026

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jun 25

Two new DHS inspector general reviews will examine why ICE detainee deaths have risen every fiscal year since 2022 and whether detention facilities are following use-of-force standards.
20 detainees have died in ICE custody so far in 2026, after 33 deaths in 2025 and 11 in 2024; the deaths review will cover Oct. 1, 2021, through March 31, 2026.
The scrutiny follows a homicide ruling in the death of a detainee at Camp East Montana in El Paso and a recent watchdog report citing a prohibited chokehold and a guard using a pen to stab a detainee in Louisiana.
ICE also narrowed its public death reporting to people still in physical custody, excluding some who are released from hospitals before dying; ICE data show at least 11 detainees died at hospitals this year.
DHS and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin rejected claims of a death-rate spike, saying detention facilities meet care standards and arguing deaths after release are no longer under ICE's watch.