As ICE Detention Expands, Deaths Reach a 22-Year High

Parady La, a Cambodian American resident of Philadelphia, passed away in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody just three days after his arrest in early 2026. The agency provided minimal details about the circumstances surrounding his death, stating that he was found distressed and unresponsive at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia with signs of vomiting and abnormal vital signs.

He was subsequently taken to a local hospital, where he was declared dead due to anoxic brain injury and multi-organ failure. His daughter, Jazmine La, remains uncertain about the events leading to her father's death and the lack of timely medical assistance.

The number of deaths in ICE custody has surged to a 22-year high since the beginning of the fiscal year. Between October 2025 and January 19, 2026, 18 deaths were reported in ICE detention, with at least 17 more occurring since then. This is a stark contrast to the three deaths recorded in the entire 2022 fiscal year. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, claims that there has been no spike in deaths, stating that the death rate in custody under the Trump administration is 0.009% of the detained population.

However, experts and rights groups are raising concerns about the rising fatality rate in ICE detention.

Clinical and legal experts attribute the increase in deaths to the expansion of detention centers, a higher number of detainees, and insufficient oversight within the facilities. The rate of fatalities per 100,000 person-years has risen from 13 in fiscal year 2023 to 47.5 in the current fiscal year, and 88.9 in the first three and a half months of the current fiscal year.

The report published in the medical journal JAMA highlights that the majority of deaths are due to treatable conditions, with cardiovascular, infectious, suicide, neurologic, and undetermined causes accounting for the majority of fatalities. The report also notes a sharp rise in mental health-related mortality, particularly suicides, in ICE custody.