The number of people who have died while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody during the current fiscal year has reached a record. Twenty-nine detainees have died since October, surpassing the previous high of 28 in 2004, according to government data.
The most recent death reported by ICE involved 27-year-old Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, a Cuban held in Miami. ICE said he was found unresponsive in his cell on April 12 and described the cause as a “presumed suicide,” though the official determination remains under investigation. ICE reported Carbonell-Betancourt entered the United States in 2024 under parole, was arrested for resisting an officer with violence in 2025, and was transferred into ICE custody earlier this year.
Deaths in custody have climbed as detention numbers have surged under the Trump administration. The detained population is more than 70% higher than in the first year of the Biden administration, driven by a sustained enforcement effort that has included arrests and detentions of people living in the country without authorization, including some without criminal records and some with temporary protections. About 60,000 people are currently in immigration detention.
The Department of Homeland Security has disputed characterizing the situation as a spike in deaths, saying the rise in fatalities reflects a larger detained population. DHS said that, as of April 16, “death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.009% of the detained population.” The department also said ICE provides detainees access to medical care and asserted that, for many, detention has been “the best healthcare they have received their entire lives,” while noting that detainees are encouraged to use the CBP Home App to self-deport.
At a congressional hearing, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons linked the higher number of deaths to having “the highest amount in detention that ICE has ever had since its inception in 2003.” Lyons noted the agency spent nearly half a billion dollars last fiscal year on detainee care and reiterated that detainees receive a full physical within 14 days and are seen by a medical professional within 24 hours of admission. Lyons, who submitted his resignation hours after testifying, said he does not want anyone to die in custody. He told senators he could not provide a current count of staff in the Office of Detention Oversight when asked.
Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock raised concerns about delays and limited detail in ICE’s public reporting of detainee deaths. They noted that, as of April 13, of 49 deaths in custody since January 2025, ICE had issued interim death notices within 48 hours in only 15 cases. Lyons acknowledged the timeliness of reporting was being addressed and said death reporting remained essential work even amid funding lapses.
Two facilities have reported the highest numbers of fatalities: the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California and Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, each with three deaths. ICE’s initial reports attribute causes across the system that include suicide, alcohol withdrawal, liver failure, kidney failure and symptoms such as shortness of breath.
One death at Camp East Montana, that of Geraldo Lunas Campos, was later ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office. DHS initially said Lunas Campos died after experiencing “medical distress” and that he had been placed in segregation after becoming “disruptive while in line for medication.” The medical examiner ruled the cause of death “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression,” and the FBI is investigating. Lunas Campos’ attorney and family say he had lived in the U.S. for decades and plan to file a wrongful-death lawsuit. DHS noted that Lunas Campos had prior convictions, including larceny, unlawful possession of a weapon during a robbery, and sexual contact with a child under 11.
Rahul Mukherjee contributed to this report.