Deaths in ICE Detention Surge 140% Under Trump, Human Rights Watch Report Reveals

WASHINGTON — A damning new report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights reveals that deaths inside US immigration detention facilities have surged by 140 percent during the first 500 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, with 52 people dying in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during the period.
The 73-page report, titled “Death in an Expanding US Immigration Detention System,” found that the average daily detainee population jumped from approximately 40,000 to over 71,000 — a 77 percent increase — yet the death rate rose at nearly double that pace. Researchers conclude the spike cannot be explained by population growth alone, pointing instead to chronic deficiencies in medical care, inadequate oversight, and deteriorating detention conditions.
Among the cases highlighted is Maksim Chernyak, a 44-year-old Ukrainian national who suffered a stroke in custody. Human Rights Watch said delays in medical treatment almost certainly caused his death. Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, died after contracting COVID-19 and spending nearly two weeks in isolation, with his family still seeking answers more than a year later. His mother said, “Only the mother who has lost her child knows what I am feeling. I want my child, and I can do nothing.”
The report also details the case of Mohammad Paktiawal, a former Afghan Special Forces member who fled after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, only to die in a Texas detention facility in March.
HRW also criticized ICE for failing to disclose key information about how such deaths occur, raising what it called serious questions about US compliance with international human rights standards.
ICE rejected the findings, with a spokesperson telling The Daily Beast that the death rate stands at just 0.0008 percent of the detainee population and insisting that detainees receive high-quality medical care — adding that “for many illegal aliens, this is the best healthcare they’ve ever received in their lives.”