Four people died in ICE custody in four days over the past week—pushing the grim toll of detainee deaths under President Donald Trump above those of Joe Biden’s entire presidency in less than a year.
According to an analysis by the Daily Beast, there have now been 29 deaths of those held in immigration detention by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Under Biden’s four years as president, there were 26.
Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are now under fire from lawmakers demanding answers about detention deaths.
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, 75, called the situation “appalling & unacceptable,” noting that ICE is “required—by law—to ensure detainees are safe & their basic needs are met.”
“We NEED answers,” she wrote on social media.
Murray’s alarm came after a string of detainee-death announcements made on Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which DHS is obligated by law to publish.
ICE said the four men, who died between Dec. 12 and Dec. 15, ranged in age from 39 to 56. Two deaths were described by ICE as suspected “natural causes,” despite both men being relatively young and no clear cause of death.
They included Nenko Stanev Gantchev, 56, who DHS reported had died Dec. 15 at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan—an immigration facility run by the private prison giant GEO Group.
Reps. Delia Ramirez and Rashida Tlaib said they were “deeply concerned” to have been notified of Gantchev’s death. They challenged ICE’s initial characterization, arguing that the “circumstances… are not yet clear” and calling for an “immediate, transparent investigation,” including into reports from other detainees that Gantchev did not receive medical assistance he had requested in time to save his life.
“We know there have been numerous complaints from family members and advocates about inhumane conditions and inadequate medical care at North Lake,” they added.
ICE’s other Dec. 18 death notice tied to suspected natural causes concerned Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, who died at University Hospital in Newark on Dec. 12 after what the agency described as a medical emergency at Delaney Hall Detention Facility.
A man from Eritrea identified as Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, 46, died Dec. 14 after experiencing “medical distress” while in custody at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, the agency said.
In Mississippi, ICE said detainee Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, 39, died Dec. 14 at Merit Health Natchez after a “failed test to determine brain function,” according to the agency’s account.
Congress has directed ICE to publish initial information about each detainee death within 30 days, with follow-up reporting generally required within 60 days.
The cluster of deaths comes amid a sharp expansion in detentions. The Migration Policy Institute reported that ICE held about 39,000 detainees when Trump returned to office in January 2025, rising to a record 61,000 in late August, often in reportedly cramped and inhumane conditions.
The pressure is landing on Noem, 54, one of the administration’s most visible faces of immigration enforcement, as her department struggles to hit its 3,000 daily deportations target.
In comparison, a Cato Institute analysis of ICE data found 72 deaths in ICE detention across fiscal years 2009–2016, a span that largely overlaps with Barack Obama’s presidency. That same ICE data series shows 51 deaths across fiscal years 2017–2020, which overlaps with Trump’s first term. In his final year, there were 18 ICE custody deaths.
During Biden’s presidency, reported death totals fell sharply in several years. A Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report said ICE recorded five detainee deaths in the 2021 fiscal year, and other reporting has put 2022 at three deaths and 2023 at four, with 2024 rising to 12.
The Daily Beast has contacted DHS for comment.
