Six people died in California ICE detention centers as Trump deportations soared

Wendy Fry and Sergio Olmos for Cal Matters report that six people died in immigration detention centers in California in the past year as the crowded sites struggled to provide basic medical care, according to a new California Department of Justice investigation detailing conditions inside the facilities. According to the report,

"[i]n 2025, Cal DOJ found that many of these conditions worsened as the current administration’s mass deportation campaign led to overcrowding and strained resources at new and existing facilities. Tragically, there were six deaths of detained individuals between September 2025 and March 2026, four at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and two at the Imperial Regional Detention Center—the highest number since Cal DOJ started conducting AB 103 reviews. These deaths raise serious concerns about these facilities’ ability to safely detain a growing detainee population and highlight the need for greater accountability and oversight"