WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Four immigrants died while in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities during the first 10 days of 2026, according to government news releases, a loss of life that followed a record number of deaths in detention last year under President Donald Trump.

The incidents involved two immigrants from Honduras, one from Cuba and one from Cambodia, and occurred from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The spate of deaths in custody coincided with the shooting death of a mother of three in Minnesota by an ICE officer, an incident that sparked protests in Minneapolis and cities across the country.

Donald Trump's administration intends to increase deportations and has increased the number of detained immigrants.
Donald Trump’s administration intends to increase deportations and has increased the number of detained immigrants.

via News

The Trump administration intends to increase deportations and has increased the number of detained immigrants.

As of January 7, ICE statistics showed the agency was detaining 69,000 people. The numbers were expected to rise following a massive injection of ICE funds approved by the US Congress last year.

At least 30 people died in ICE custody in 2025, the highest level in two decades, agency figures showed.

Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director for Detention Watch Network, called the high death toll “truly staggering” and urged the administration to close detention centers. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died on January 3 at Camp East Montana, a detention center opened by the Trump administration on the grounds of Fort Bliss in Texas.

ICE said it was investigating Luna’s death, adding that he had become disruptive, was placed in isolation and later found in danger. EMTs pronounced him dead, ICE said.

The two Honduran men, Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, 42, and Luis Beltrán Yánez-Cruz, 68, died in hospitals in the Houston and Indio, California, areas on Jan. 5 and 6, respectively, both from heart-related problems, ICE said.

Parady La, a 46-year-old Cambodian, died Jan. 9 after suffering severe drug withdrawal symptoms at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, ICE said. The administration began using that space last year, he said.

The Trump administration has greatly reduced the number of migrants released from detention on humanitarian grounds, leading some to accept deportation.