The people dying in ICE custody
· Vox
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Welcome to The Logoff: People are dying in ICE custody at a record pace.
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What’s happening? Earlier this week, we learned that Royer Perez-Jimenez, a 19-year-old from Mexico, died in ICE custody by a “presumed suicide,” according to the agency. His death is at least the 13th to be reported in 2026, not even three full months into the year.
News of Perez-Jimenez’s death follows that of Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, an Afghan refugee who fought alongside US forces in Afghanistan before coming to the US in 2021. Paktiawal, who died on Saturday, was reportedly arrested by masked immigration agents while dropping his children off at school the day before. His family says they still don’t know why he died.
What’s the context? In 2004 — the first full year ICE existed — 32 people died in custody. No other year had more than 20 deaths until 2025, when 31 people died, according to ICE data reported by CBS.
Now, in 2026, ICE has reported more deaths in custody than 16 previous full years — and more than three times as many as at this point in 2025.
What’s the big picture? There are nearly 70,000 people currently in ICE detention, compared to fewer than 40,000 when Donald Trump returned to office last year.
Increasingly many of those detainees are now being arrested solely for immigration violations, according to Reuters. Those arrests were by far the smallest category when Trump took office, but now outstrip both detainees convicted of crimes and those facing criminal charges.
ICE is also detaining far more children than at any recent point.
Many of those detainees are being held in appalling conditions, where they face overcrowded and unsanitary facilities, lack of access to care, and alleged abuse by immigration officers. One detainee at a particularly notorious camp told the AP it was “1,000% worse than a prison.”
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Hi readers — this was a particularly dark newsletter, even by recent standards, but I want to stick with our promise to end with something good, useful, or otherwise far away from the Trump administration. So here’s a beautiful, transportive New York Times Magazine story, from author and dogsled racer Blair Braverman. It’s better read than described, so just trust me; you can access it with a gift link here. Have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!