NEW YORK: The death rate among people held in United States immigration custody has reached its highest level in more than a decade, according to a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights.
The report said at least 52 deaths have been recorded in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities since President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025.
Sharp rise in deaths
According to the rights groups, the annual mortality rate in immigration custody rose by 140 per cent from January 2025 to January 2026 compared with the previous year.
The report said the increase was disproportionate to the rise in the detainee population and was nearly four times the rate recorded under former President Joe Biden.
Human Rights Watch said prolonged detention, overcrowding and inadequate medical care were among the key concerns.
Medical care concerns
The report cited cases in which detainees allegedly did not receive timely or suitable medical treatment despite serious health symptoms.
It also recorded seven suicide deaths in immigration custody from January 2025 to January 2026, compared with one in 2024.
The Department of Homeland Security rejected the reported spike, saying death rates remained consistent with data from the past decade and that detainees had access to proper medical care.
Rights groups, however, said the findings showed serious failures in protecting people held in immigration detention.
