Homan Spars With CBS Reporter Over Migrant Deaths in ICE Custody

Border czar Tom Homan accused a CBS News journalist of asking a «loaded question» during a Friday interview about deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, turning the exchange into a dispute over which administration's record should be compared.

CBS News immigration correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez told Homan that official ICE data showed 57 people had died in the agency's custody so far under the current administration, and that 2026 could set a record high for detainee deaths. He asked what was being done to prevent that, acknowledging that a larger detained population was one partial explanation but saying it could not be the only one.

Homan responded by repeatedly asking how many people had died in custody during the Biden administration. When Montoya-Galvez said the number was significant but that he did not have the data on hand, Homan replied, «Of course you don't,» and called it «another loaded question against the Trump administration.»

Homan defended ICE detention operations, saying the agency maintains the highest detention standards in the industry, higher than any state or federal institution, and that its deaths in custody rank among the lowest compared with state prisons or the Bureau of Prisons. He attributed the rising number of deaths to a detained population that has roughly doubled, saying ICE was holding more than 70,000 people and at one point around 74,000.

He also argued that ICE provides medical care that detainees from developing countries often have not previously received, describing cases in which agency doctors identified and treated serious conditions the detainees did not know they had. Homan said ICE spent nearly a billion dollars on medical care during his earlier tenure as the agency's director.

«Again, it's unfortunate, and it's sad when anybody dies. I don't want to see anybody die, but we do everything we can to give them the best medical care that we can provide,» Homan said, adding that ICE's in-custody death rate has been among the lowest when compared with state or federal penitentiaries.

The exchange drew criticism from Theo Wold, a former acting assistant attorney general and deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during President Donald Trump's first term. Wold told Fox News Digital that the interview reflected a style of journalism built on «gotcha questions» without supporting data, arguing the aim was to produce ideological sound bites rather than inform the public.

Wold added that no administration can avoid in-custody deaths, and that the current administration has more than doubled Biden-era enforcement, meaning more people are detained and more die in custody, most often through no fault of ICE or its enforcement officers.

The interview comes as ICE detention practices face renewed scrutiny from Democrats and advocacy groups, while the agency's supporters point to the scale of enforcement and the medical services provided to detainees. Homan has previously defended ICE detention facilities against Democratic efforts to shut them down, saying the facilities are not going anywhere.

6Views

Author

Delaney Sawyer

Society Reporter

Delaney Sawyer covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

All articles by this author