ICE Detention Deaths Pace Toward New Record; Fort Bliss Death Ruled Homicide

As of late March 2026, 46 people had died in ICE custody since January 2025 — the start of the Trump second term. FY2026 was on pace to be the deadliest fiscal year for ICE detention since 2004. A death at the Camp East Montana facility at Fort Bliss, Texas had been ruled a homicide by a local medical examiner. A 19-year-old Mexican national, Royer Perez-Jimenez, had died at a Florida county jail holding ICE detainees — ICE reported 'presumed suicide.' An Afghan immigrant who had worked with U.S. forces died in a Texas hospital after being detained. ICE held approximately 70,000 people in detention — up from approximately 37,000 a year ago — with the administration's stated goal of 100,000 detention beds. The death toll drew calls from congressional Democrats and advocacy organizations for emergency oversight and an independent inspector general investigation.