17 die in U.S. immigration custody this year: report

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen people have died in U.S. immigration custody this year, according to the detainee death reports released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The latest death was reported on Thursday. A 27-year-old Cuban national was found unresponsive in his cell at a federal detention center in Miami on April 12. He was pronounced dead after resuscitation efforts, with the official cause still under investigation.

ICE reported 33 detainee deaths in 2025, the highest total in more than two decades, and 11 in 2024, according to NBC News.

As of early April this year, ICE was detaining more than 60,000 immigrants -- a figure that has declined in recent months but remains significantly higher than levels before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office. ■