DHS pushes back on Senate Democrats over ICE detainee death claims
Agency says there has been no spike in deaths and cites a 0.00007% custody fatality rate, while defending care standards
The Department of Homeland Security is pushing back against Senate Democrats’ assertion that 2025 has become the deadliest year in decades for immigrants held in federal custody. In a post to X on Saturday, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the Senate Judiciary Democrats’ account, which claimed '30 immigrants have died in ICE custody since Donald Trump took office, making 2025 the deadliest year in ICE detention since the early 2000s.' McLaughlin said there has been no spike in deaths and noted that, over the past decade, death rates in custody have remained at about 0.00007 percent. "There has been NO spike in deaths. Consistent with data over the past decade, death rates in custody are 0.00007%."
She argued that those held in ICE custody receive appropriate medical care and a higher standard of care than many U.S. prisons, saying, 'For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.' As bed space has expanded, she said, ICE has maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens, including providing access to proper medical care. "This holiday season, ICE is working around the clock to ensure silent nights and safer streets."
On Friday, DHS said ICE had arrested illegal immigrants across the country whose criminal records include burglary, robbery and aggravated kidnapping, calling the latest defendants some of the 'worst of the worst.' Homeland Security touted the arrests as a seasonal effort to remove dangerous individuals and help keep communities safer.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report. Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
