They Are Not Numbers: Deaths and Disappearances at the Hands of Federal Immigration Enforcement in 2026
- Kal Inois
- 15 hours ago
- 21 min read
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
They Are Not Numbers:
Deaths and Disappearances at the Hands of Federal Immigration Enforcement in 2026
All facts sourced from official U.S. government records and verified reporting from ABC News, NPR, CBS News, Fox News, the Texas Tribune, the Indianapolis Star, the Miami Herald, and other credible outlets.
A Nation That Is Not Paying Attention
The United States federal government is killing people. Not in distant wars. Not in classified operations. Here. In detention facilities spread across seven states. In parking lots in Minneapolis. On the streets where ordinary Americans live. And the majority of this country does not know their names.
This report is our attempt to change that. We are Citizens Against Tyranny, a grassroots activist network in Missouri, organizing peaceful protests, community service, and civic action in defense of democracy. We are not just United States citizens. We believe that what is done in our name, with our tax dollars, by our government, is our responsibility to know. We are not amplifying this record to make political arguments. We are amplifying it because a sleeping America cannot act on what it does not see.
Since January 1, 2026, at least 13 people have died in IÇE detention custody. Three more people, two of them United States citizens, have been shot and killed by federal immigration enforcement agents in public. At least 14 additional people were shot by federal agents between September 2025 and February 2026. Federal officials have obstructed public health investigations, blocked media access to facilities, allowed the legally required death log to go dark, and published official press releases with missing sentences and inaccessible pages.
And the government is planning to build 23 more facilities.
Every fact in this report is drawn from official IÇE press releases, government data published on içe.gov, or verified reporting from outlets across the political spectrum. This is the documented record. It belongs to every American citizen.
The Scale of What Is Happening
As of April 8, 2026, there are 67,138 people in IÇE detention across the United States. According to IÇE's own published weekly data, visualized by the open source tracking project watchice.org, 78% of those people have no criminal records.[1] The †rump regime has repeatedly claimed that its immigration enforcement targets murderers, human traffickers, and gang members. IÇE's own data proves that claim is false.
In 2025, IÇE reported 33 in-custody deaths, the highest annual total in more than two decades.[2] In the first three and a half months of 2026 alone, at least 13 people have died in IÇE detention. At this pace, 2026 will be the deadliest year in the history of IÇE detention. The official death log, which IÇE is legally required to update under the DHS Appropriations Act of 2018, has not been updated since February 27, 2026.[3] Every death that occurred after that date exists in the public record only because journalists reported it, not because the government disclosed it.
Federal immigration agents shot 14 people between September 2025 and February 2026 as the regime expanded its deportation operations nationwide.[4] Three of those shootings were fatal. Two victims were United States citizens.
The Dead in 2026: Their Names, Their Stories
We say their names.
Congressman Andre Carson, standing outside Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana on April 9, 2026, said it plainly: "I say their names because IÇE won't say their names."[5]
IÇE's official press releases refer to each person who dies in custody as a "criminal illegal alien." In some releases, the word "criminal" appears before the person's name. In one release, the word "criminal" appears in the headline, before any other information about the human being who died. We reject that framing. These were people. Here is what the record shows about each of them.
Geraldo Luna Campos, 55 | Cuba | January 3, 2026 | Camp East Montana, El Paso, Texas
Campos died at Camp East Montana, the largest IÇE detention facility in the United States, built on a military base at Fort Bliss. IÇE initially stated he died of "medical distress." The agency later changed its account, claiming he died during a suicide attempt. The El Paso County Medical Examiner conducted an independent autopsy and ruled his death a homicide, caused by "asphyxia due to neck and torso compression," meaning he could not breathe because of pressure on his neck and chest.[6] Witnesses reported hearing him say "I can't breathe" during a struggle with guards. Those witnesses were given deportation notices within days of speaking to Washington Post reporters about what they saw.[7] No one has been charged in his death.
Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42 | Honduras | January 5, 2026 | Houston, Texas
Nunez Caceres was arrested by IÇE in Houston in November 2025 and transferred to the Joe Corley Processing Center in Conroe, Texas. On New Year's Eve, he suffered multiple life threatening medical emergencies and was moved to the intensive care unit. He died on January 5, 2026.[8]
Luis Beltran Yanez Cruz, 68 | Honduras | January 6, 2026 | Indio, California
Yanez Cruz had lived in the United States for more than 20 years when IÇE detained him in New Jersey and transferred him to a detention facility in Calexico, California. His family said he had been ill for weeks and was given only pain medication. He died of heart related health issues at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital. His daughter said: "My soul was destroyed."[8]
Victor Manuel Diaz, 36 | Nicaragua | January 14, 2026 | Camp East Montana, El Paso, Texas
Diaz was arrested in Minneapolis on January 6 as part of the regime's immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. He was transferred to Camp East Montana. Eight days later he was dead. IÇE called it a presumed suicide. His family disputes that account. His brother said: "He was not a criminal. He was looking for a better life and he wanted to help our mother."[9] His body was sent to a military hospital for autopsy rather than to the El Paso County Medical Examiner who had ruled the previous death at the same facility a homicide. The military autopsy results have not been made public.
Heber Sanchez Dominguez | Mexico | January 2026 | Georgia
Sanchez Dominguez was arrested for driving without a license before being transferred to IÇE custody. He died in a Georgia detention facility. Mexico's Consulate General in Atlanta requested clarification of the circumstances of his death. The Clayton County Democratic Committee called for an immediate investigation and demanded the release of all records related to his detention, medical treatment, and the events leading to his death.[8]
Parady La | Cambodia | January 2026 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
La was found unresponsive at a federal detention center in Philadelphia, where he was being held. His daughter, Jazmine La, said: "He was a real person and people loved him."[8]
Jairo Garcia Hernandez, 27 | Guatemala | February 16, 2026 | Miami, Florida
IÇE's own official press release acknowledges that Garcia Hernandez "had a long history of severe medical complications and was already in ill health when he was taken into IÇE custody." Despite this documented knowledge, he was transferred repeatedly between detention facilities in New York, Miami, and El Paso while immunocompromised. He collapsed at 1:06 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 2:01 a.m. He was 27 years old.[10]
Lorth Sim, 59 | Cambodia | February 2026 | Miami Correctional Facility, Indiana
Sim was a refugee who escaped a war torn country to build a life in the United States. He died at Miami Correctional Facility, a maximum security state prison that was repurposed in October 2025 to hold IÇE detainees. Congressman Andre Carson, who toured the facility on April 9, 2026, reported that detainees told him screams from one of the dying men were dismissed by staff who thought the person was joking. They told him an intercom system could have saved his life.[5]
Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, 48 | Mexico | February 27, 2026 | Victorville, California
Gutierrez Reyes reported feeling faint on February 25. He was transferred to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for evaluation. He was admitted for chest pain and shortness of breath. Two days later, on February 27, he became unresponsive. Medical staff initiated life saving measures. He was pronounced dead at 12:58 a.m. The official IÇE press release announcing his death ends with this sentence: "This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their entire lives."[11]
Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi, 59 | Iran | March 1, 2026 | Natchez, Mississippi
Karshenas had been a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States since 1991. He lived here for over 30 years. IÇE's own official press release documents that his known medical history included prior cardiac arrest. At approximately 4:00 p.m. on March 1, hospital staff reported he was "stable without any sign of distress and he denies any pain." Two hours later he was in cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m. IÇE's release does not explain what changed in those two hours.[12]
Emanuel Cleeford Damas | Haiti | March 2, 2026 | Scottsdale, Arizona
Damas spent 11 days on a ventilator. He was transferred between three hospitals, underwent chest tube placement, thoracentesis, a video assisted thoracoscopic surgical procedure, MRSA testing, blood cultures, abdominal ultrasounds, and multiple rounds of IV antibiotics. He was being held under the mandatory detention provision of the Laken Riley Act, meaning he had no legal pathway to release even as his health collapsed and his immigration appeal was still pending. His family arrived to sit with him through the night of March 1. He died at 1:12 p.m. on March 2. The cause of death is listed as unknown.[13]
Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41 | Afghanistan | March 14, 2026 | Dallas, Texas
Paktiawal entered the United States legally in August 2021 through Washington Dulles International Airport. He was paroled into the country by an immigration officer. He was arrested by IÇE on March 13, 2026. That same evening, while still in an IÇE processing hold room and not yet transferred to any detention facility, he began experiencing shortness of breath and chest pains. He was transported to Parkland Hospital. An emergency room doctor recommended he remain for observation. The following morning, while eating breakfast, his tongue swelled. Multiple lifesaving efforts failed. He was declared deceased at 9:10 a.m. He had been in federal custody for less than one day.[14]
Royer Perez Jimenez, 19 | Mexico | March 16, 2026 | Moore Haven, Florida
Royer Perez Jimenez was 19 years old. He was arrested for misdemeanor fraud for impersonation and misdemeanor resisting an officer. He was transferred into IÇE custody on February 21, 2026 and moved to Glades County Detention Center on February 26. He had answered "no" to all suicide screening questions at intake. Eighteen days after his transfer to the Glades County facility, a detention officer found him unconscious and unresponsive at 2:34 in the morning. IÇE called it a presumed suicide. The official cause of death remains under investigation. He was 19 years old.[15]
Jose Guadalupe Ramos Solano | Mexico | March 25, 2026 | Adelanto, California
Ramos Solano arrived at the Adelanto IÇE Processing Center on February 24, 2026. At intake, medical staff identified diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. He was found unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk on March 25. Staff initiated CPR and called emergency services. He was transported to Victor Valley Global Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. His daughter, Gloria Ramos, stood at a press conference alongside the Mexican Consulate General of Los Angeles and said: "What happened to my dad was very inhumane. I think my family and I deserve to know the truth of what happened to my dad."[16]
Tuan Van Bui, 55 | Vietnam | April 1, 2026 | Miami Correctional Facility, Indiana
Tuan Van Bui came to the United States in 1990 at the age of five. He did not choose to come. He was brought here legally, under the Amerasian Homecoming Act, a law passed by the United States Congress specifically to bring to America the children of U.S. servicemen who had served in Vietnam. The American government created the program that brought him here. He lived in this country for 35 years. He was found unresponsive in his cell at Miami Correctional Facility on April 1, 2026. Staff initiated CPR and called emergency services. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. His cause of death is under investigation. He was the 46th person to die in federal immigration custody under the current regime. IÇE's official press release headline reads: "Criminal illegal alien from Vietnam passes away at Miami Correctional Center."[17]
Shot and Killed by Federal Agents in Public
The deaths inside detention facilities are not the complete picture. Three people were shot and killed by federal immigration enforcement agents in public in the opening months of 2026. Two of them were United States citizens.
Keith Porter, 43 | United States Citizen | December 31, 2025 | Los Angeles, California
Porter was shot and killed by an off duty IÇE agent on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles. The exact circumstances of the shooting remain contested. There are no known videos of the incident.[18]
Renee Nicole Good, 37 | United States Citizen | January 7, 2026 | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Good was a 37 year old mother of three young children. She was shot and killed by a federal IÇE agent while sitting in her car during a large enforcement operation on a residential street in Minneapolis. Video evidence obtained by investigators raised serious questions about whether lethal force was necessary or justified. Eyewitnesses stated that federal officers blocked medics and bystanders from rendering aid after she was shot. The †rump regime, including DH$ Secretary Kristi Noem, claimed Good was responsible for her own death. Congressional Democrats motioned to subpoena all records and footage related to the shooting. Republican members of Congress blocked the motion.[4]
Alex Pretti, 37 | United States Citizen | January 24, 2026 | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Pretti was a 37 year old ICU nurse. He was shot and killed by Børder Påtrøl agents in Minneapolis, less than three weeks after the killing of Renee Good in the same city. DH$ officials described the killing as an act of self defense. Video evidence raised serious questions about that account.[4]
The Conditions Inside the Facilities
The deaths do not exist in isolation. They are the endpoint of documented, systemic failures in the facilities where these people were held. The following conditions have been reported and verified across multiple states.
Indiana: Screams Dismissed, Media Banned
At Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana, a maximum security state prison repurposed to hold IÇE detainees in October 2025, Congressman Andre Carson conducted an oversight tour on April 9, 2026. Detainees told him it took two weeks to receive medical care after falling ill, and that care consisted of a few Tylenol. Detainees reported that screams from one of the men who died were dismissed by staff who thought the person was joking. They said an intercom system could have prevented the death. Detainees also reported racism and discrimination from staff, inconsistent meal times, no haircuts in six months, and having to wash their clothes in sinks. State and federal officials have repeatedly denied media access to the facility.[5]
IÇE has committed to paying the state of Indiana $291 per detainee per day to hold people at Miami Correctional Facility. The facility has been reported by IndyStar to have one of the highest mortality rates in Indiana's state correctional system, fueled by a gang operated drug market.[5]
Texas: 49 Violations, Three Deaths, Guards Betting on Suicides
Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss in El Paso is the largest IÇE detention facility in the United States. It opened in August 2025 and was initially operated by Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small Virginia company that had never previously operated a detention facility, under a $1.3 billion federal contract. Three people died there between December 2025 and January 2026, including one death ruled a homicide.[19]
IÇE's own inspection team conducted a three day review of the facility in February 2026 and found 49 violations of detention standards, including inadequate medical care, failures in suicide watch documentation, tuberculosis isolation failures, staffing deficiencies, security problems, and the most serious violations tied to use of force and restraints.[20]
A former detainee, Owen Ramsingh, a permanent U.S. resident since age five who was deported after a nearly three decade old drug conviction, told NPR that he personally talked three detainees out of killing themselves. He also told NPR he heard guards at the facility betting on which detainee would die by suicide next. A woman detained at the facility told NPR she lost 35 pounds during her time there. She said food was often inedible and portions so small that detainees hid fruit and crackers under their shirts.[19]
The government's response to the documented failures was to replace the contractor. Amentum Services received a new no bid contract worth $453 million to operate the facility. DH$ said: "Far from closing, Camp East Montana is upgrading."[20]
Mississippi: A Homicide, and a Story That Does Not Add Up
Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, 39, died in December 2025 at the Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, Mississippi, a facility operated by private prison company CoreCivic. IÇE initially described his death as a possible suicide by hanging. His family disputes the account. Rodriguez had voluntarily agreed to self deport in September 2025 and was actively making plans to return to Nicaragua, calling his family daily. He showed no signs of suicidal ideation. His family was told he was found hanging in an individual cell but was never told why he had been placed in an individual cell when he had described living in a large shared room with over 100 people. Nurses at the hospital where he died told his family that his injuries appeared inconsistent with hanging by a sheet, and that he had a forehead injury that could not be explained by hanging. His death was ruled a homicide. The cause of death listed was asphyxia. IÇE and ÇoreÇivic stonewalled every specific question from the investigative reporter who covered the case. A public records request to IÇE remains outstanding.[21]
Colorado: A Health Investigation Obstructed
At the Aurora IÇE Processing Center in Colorado, operated by the private GEØ Group, the Adams County Health Department received complaints in January 2026 about widespread gastrointestinal and respiratory illness among detainees and kitchen staff. When health investigators arrived on site, GEØ Group's legal counsel delayed and then blocked efforts to interview facility staff. Despite repeated follow up attempts, investigators were never given access to staff. None of the specimen testing kits provided to the facility for individuals with symptoms of diarrhea or vomiting were ever returned to the health department for testing. A follow up phone interview with a detainee who tested positive for a foodborne illness was delayed 15 days due to facility coordination problems. After the investigation concluded, no facility staff followed through on any of the health department's recommended actions.[22]
Arizona and Phoenix: 33 Men, One Cell, One Toilet
In Phoenix, the wife of a Venezuelan immigrant detained at an IÇE facility in central Phoenix reported that her husband was being held with 32 other men in a single cell. She said detainees were sleeping on cement floors, sharing one open air toilet, and getting sick from the food. The smell of feces and vomit filled the space.[23]
California: A Foreign Government Demands Answers
At the Adelanto IÇE Processing Center in California, four Mexican nationals died between 2025 and 2026. The Mexican Consulate General of Los Angeles held a press conference to call the deaths an "unacceptable trend." Mexican officials stated that the deaths "reveal systematic failures, operational deficiencies, and possible negligence, counter to the United States' own protocols and regulations as well as international human rights standards." The Mexican government supported a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of current detainees challenging unconstitutional conditions at the facility.[24]
Washington State: A Treatable Condition, A Death
Jose Manuel Sanchez Castro, 36, died at the Northwest IÇE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington in October 2024. His cause of death was a perforated duodenal ulcer. A 911 call obtained by the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights showed he was experiencing fentanyl withdrawal at the time he was found unresponsive. A perforated ulcer is a treatable medical emergency when diagnosed and treated promptly.[25]
Alligator Alcatraz: Nearly 2,000 People Who Cannot Be Found
In the Florida Everglades, the state of Florida operates a tent detention facility nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" by immigration advocates. The facility was built in days in the summer of 2025 and sits deep in the Everglades, far from legal aid networks and media. In July 2025, more than 1,800 men were held there. The Miami Herald obtained two internal detainee rosters and found that approximately 800 names were not appearing in IÇE's public Online Detainee Locator System, the system the government uses to track everyone in IÇE custody. Another 450 detainees were listed without a location, with only a message instructing users to "Call IÇE for details."[26]
The Florida Immigrant Coalition stated: "Those detained in this detention camp have effectively been administratively disappeared." The group documented detainees being deported before their scheduled bond hearings, a serious due process violation, and confirmed that hospitalizations for severe medical incidents including cardiac events and surgeries were going unreported. Immigration attorneys said they did not know who to call to reach their clients.[26]
An Amnesty International investigation into prototype detention facilities in Florida found detainees kept shackled in overcrowded cages, underfed, forced to use open air toilets that routinely flooded, and regularly denied medical care.[27]
While People Die, the Government Is Building 23 More
While people die in the facilities that exist today, the federal government is simultaneously planning and building a new network of mass detention facilities. The Courier Newsroom independently verified the locations of 23 industrial warehouses that IÇE has surveyed for conversion into detention centers. Leases have been signed in Arizona, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas.[27]
In Surprise, Arizona, DH$ purchased a warehouse the size of seven football fields for $70 million, intended to hold 1,500 people. Arizona State Senator Analise Ortiz said: "If they are going to house people there, it is a death camp. I don't say that lightly. This is abhorrent and chilling because IÇE is already violating the US Constitution, which means none of us are safe, including US citizens."[27]
In Maryland, DH$ spent $102 million on a warehouse despite sustained community protests. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said: "This Administration is spitting in the face of communities from Minneapolis to Maryland and wasting our tax dollars."[27]
In Kansas City, Missouri, IÇE was quietly surveying a publicly owned facility intended to hold over 7,000 people. Jackson County Legislative Chair Manny Abarca discovered the surveillance, went to observe, and was immediately boxed in by unmarked vehicles carrying IÇE agents in tactical gear who falsely accused him of trespassing. He called local news reporters. The resulting public attention helped produce a five year countywide moratorium on new non municipal detention centers.[27]
Communities in Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Texas have all formally opposed proposed facilities in their areas. Many of the proposed sites lack the water, electricity, and sewage infrastructure necessary to house thousands of people under any humane standard.
A Government That Is Hiding What It Does
The deaths and conditions documented in this report do not represent the full picture. They represent what can be proven despite active government obstruction of transparency at every level.
The official IÇE detainee death reporting page, which IÇE is legally required to update under the DHS Appropriations Act of 2018, was last updated on February 27, 2026.[3] Every death that occurred after that date, including those of Royer Perez Jimenez, Jose Guadalupe Ramos Solano, and Tuan Van Bui, is documented only because journalists independently reported it.
When attempts were made to access individual IÇE press releases through içe.gov, multiple pages returned 403 access errors, meaning the government's own official death notifications are not publicly accessible.
IÇE has been documented as regularly releasing individuals from custody shortly before death to avoid counting those deaths in official reports. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against IÇE in October 2021 over this practice. Cases have included individuals given parole documents to sign while hospitalized and in a coma.[3]
At Camp East Montana, after the death of Geraldo Luna Campos was ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Medical Examiner, IÇE bypassed that same medical examiner for the autopsy of the next person to die at the facility, Victor Manuel Diaz. His body was sent to a military hospital. The results have not been made public.[28]
Congress members Dave Min and Ayanna Pressley introduced the DHS Use of Force Transparency Act of 2026, which would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide all documents related to officer involved shootings and in custody deaths to congressional oversight committees. The bill's sponsors noted that "at least three Americans are dead" due to IÇE and ÇBP actions and that "barely any data is available."[29]
What the Government Says
IÇE's standard response, repeated in nearly every press release and public statement, is the following:
"IÇE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay. All people in IÇE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days of entering IÇE custody or arrival at a facility; access to medical appointments; and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained alien denied emergency care."
Medical professionals who were assigned to work in immigration detention centers told NPR they witnessed chaotic screenings and life threatening delays in getting medicine and care to detainees. Overcrowded and understaffed conditions pushed some to quit their positions.[30]
What We Are Asking You to Do
We are Citizens Against Tyranny, and we are grassroots activists in southwest Missouri. We do not have the power to close these facilities or remove these contractors or force this government to follow its own laws. But we have something the government is counting on us not to use: our voices, our votes, our presence, and our refusal to look away.
We are asking you to read this report. We are asking you to share it. We are asking you to say these names: Geraldo. Luis. Luis. Victor. Heber. Parady. Jairo. Lorth. Alberto. Pejman. Emanuel. Mohammad. Royer. Jose. Tuan. Renee. Alex. Keith.
We are asking you to contact your elected representatives and demand answers. We are asking you to show up. We are asking you to refuse the comfort of not knowing.
The Declaration of Independence, the founding document of this nation, holds that all people are endowed with inalienable rights, including the right to life. Not some people. Not citizens only. All people. When our government takes life, it is our duty as citizens to know it, to name it, and to demand accountability for it.
These people were not numbers. They were someone's father, mother, brother, sister, daughter, son. They came here for the same reasons every generation before them came here. Some of them were brought here by the government that killed them.
Say their names. Then do something.
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