ICE Investigated 29 Detainee Deaths and Found Unsafe Medical Care in 23, With No Sanctions Listed in Reports

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's own investigators found that detainees received deficient medical care before 23 of 29 deaths in custody during the first year of Donald Trump's second term.

The internal reviews, obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, also found staff failed to perform CPR properly, or at all, in at least eight cases.

What ICE's Reviews Found

The San Francisco Chronicle obtained ICE's internal reports on 29 detainees who died between January 2025 and January 2026 through a public records request.

In 23 of those cases, investigators found that detention staff 'deviated from safe limits of practice' or 'did not provide medical care within safe limits of practice', The New Republic reported, citing the Chronicle.

ICE's investigations said deficient care directly contributed to 20 of the 23 deaths, Truthout reported. In three, investigators concluded it did not directly contribute. The agency said the remaining six detainees received care within acceptable limits.

CPR Failures and a Reported Heart Attack

The reports describe failures at the most basic level. In at least eight cases, medical staff failed to perform CPR correctly or did not perform it at all.

In one case in California, Huabing Xie reported chest pain, but neither supervising medical provider evaluated or treated him. He died of a heart attack nearly two hours later, according to the Chronicle's reconstruction from internal ICE documents, MundoNow reported.

Families describe similar failures in more recent deaths. Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias, a 56-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the US for decades, died on 17 October at the Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo, Texas. His family alleged he was denied medication and care, Truthout reported. ICE has disputed such accounts, and the cause of his death has not been made public. Mexico's foreign ministry said his death brought to 18 the number of Mexican nationals who had died in US custody or during immigration enforcement operations since January 2025.

Coverage of the reviews does not mention any disciplinary action or sanctions against staff or contractors.

DHS's 'Best Care' Claim

The findings contradict the government's public stance. The Department of Homeland Security has said its immigration detention facilities provide 'timely and appropriate medical care', and that 'the medical care in ICE detention is the best care' many immigrants have received, Truthout reported.

2025 saw the most immigrant detainee deaths since 2003, and at least 31 people had died in ICE detention in 2026 by early November, according to a tally cited by The New Republic. ICE insists there has been no spike. The magazine also reported that ICE told outside medical providers in January it would not resume processing their payment claims for months.

In June, ICE changed its policy to stop reporting and investigating deaths of people who die within 30 days of release. In one case, Prisciliano Trejo Ricano died shortly after ICE released him from custody while he was reportedly in a coma. His family alleged he had been denied timely treatment. ICE does not count him among deaths in custody.

Concerns are not new. In October 2025, a report from Sen. Jon Ossoff cited '85 credible reports of medical neglect' at US detention centres, though these were not adjudicated findings. With Democrats taking control of Congress in January, detention conditions are expected to face fresh scrutiny.