EL PASO, TEXAS — Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported the 16th immigrant detainee death of 2026 in mid-April, continuing a pace that follows a year in which ICE announced 33 in-custody deaths — the most in more than two decades. The deaths are being disclosed under a policy adopted in mid-December 2025 that limits public death reports to four-paragraph summaries.

Through late 2025, ICE had released detailed three-page reports on the circumstances of each immigrant death in U.S. detention centers. Those reports typically included detailed timelines with timestamps of medical observations, lists of regular and emergency medications administered, and the times and causes of death. Under its previous policy, ICE notified the public and Congress within two days of a detainee's death and posted full reports on its website within 90 days.

Since the mid-December 2025 change, ICE death reports have generally included only a brief synopsis of the circumstances leading up to each death. At least four detainee deaths at ICE detention centers in Georgia, El Paso, Houston, and Philadelphia occurred more than 90 days ago, but ICE has not posted final death reports on its website for those cases. When ICE announced two detainee deaths in January 2026, it listed the causes of death as under investigation and has not released final conclusions. ICE said that one person died from heart problems and another died from drug issues.

There were 11 immigrant detainee deaths in ICE custody in 2024. More than 60,000 people remain in ICE custody, a population nearly double the number held before President Donald Trump's return to office. The Department of Homeland Security under Trump has committed to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible. Since February 2026, the number of people in ICE detention has dropped by 11%, and ICE arrests have decreased by 21%.

DHS said in a statement that detainee death rates were a very small percentage of the overall detained population. The department stated: "All detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens."

ICE descriptions of detention facility conditions differ from accounts given by migrants held inside. Camp East Montana, an immigration detention facility on the Fort Bliss military base along the Texas-Mexico border, detains more immigrants than any other ICE facility.