Democrat Senator Dick Durbin slams ICE as deaths in custody reach unprecedented highs

ICE agents have long been the target of immense criticism, both from the public and from Democrats, ever since Donald Trump ordered a stringent crackdown on illegal immigrants. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is under heavy fire again, as multiple deaths of people in its custody have been reported of late. Illinois’s Democratic Senator Dick Durbin was one of the latest to attack ICE over these deaths that are seeing pandemic-level highs of late.

“Someone is dying in ICE custody every week, if not more frequently. This is a crisis,” he said. Reported data backs up Durbin’s claim, as ICE deaths in 2025 reached highs it had not seen in two decades, as per a CBS report. It also claimed that the annual death rate in ICE custody per 10,000 detainees almost spiked to pandemic-level highs. Back then, most reported deaths were due to COVID-19.

There has been outrage over the condition of detainees in ICE facilities after the death of Afghan immigrant Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal. Paktiawal had entered the country legally, but officials claimed that his status had expired. ICE also stated that Paktiawal was a target after local arrests on charges of fraud and theft. The worst part about this particular case is that the deceased fought alongside the U.S. military in Afghanistan for close to a decade.

He was not reported to have any pre-existing medical condition. Paktiawal’s brother had informed officials of his deteriorating condition, only for his calls to be ignored. "I told [the agent] my brother needs help. He's not feeling good. He's feeling pain in his body," he said. "He told me, don't worry about it. We have a nurse. We will take care of him. And he hung up the phone on me."

Clearly, he was not taken care of, and that is not all. Just a couple of days after Paktiawal’s passing, a 19-year-old Mexican man died by suicide, as per reports. This has led to a total of 13 deaths in ICE custody so far this year. That number is triple what it was just a year ago this time. In 2025, the total number of deaths in ICE custody stood at 31, the most since 2004. Durbin was not the only Democrat who slammed the country’s immigration enforcement agency as reports of these deaths came into the limelight.

Rep. Dave Min, a California Democrat, had taken to X to speak on the matter before these two recent deaths. “Two more people have died in ICE detention, bringing the total to at least 11 deaths in ICE custody in 2026. Unconscionable. Tomorrow, I am going to the Adelanto Detention Center to conduct oversight and demand answers about detention conditions. No one should die due to neglect in federal custody,” he wrote via his official handle.

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon from Pennsylvania said that the Trump administration must be held accountable for the increasing number of deaths in ICE custody. “Another life lost - over 40 deaths have occurred in ICE custody since the start of this administration. Moms, dads, and kids - mostly with no criminal record - are dying because of horrific conditions and callous mismanagement in ICE detention facilities. This administration must be held accountable for those deaths, so that other lives may be saved,” she opined on X.

“Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, an Afghan refugee who served alongside our servicemembers in Afghanistan, died less than 24 hours after being in ICE custody. There have been over 40 deaths in ICE custody, including one of my constituents, since the beginning of the President's term. This is un-American. We need accountability now,” Scanlon had written in a separate post.