Internal ICE Records Expose Surge in Brutal Force Against Detainees Under Trump

A trove of internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records obtained by The Washington Post exposes a disturbing escalation in the use of force against immigrant detainees during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term. The documents, known as the “Daily Detainee Assault Report,” detail at least 780 incidents where ICE staff deployed physical force or chemical agents like pepper balls to control detainees across 98 facilities nationwide.

The reports cover January 2024 through February 2026, spanning the last year of the Biden administration and Trump’s return to office. They reveal a 37 percent increase in use-of-force incidents and a 54 percent jump in the number of detainees subjected to force compared to the previous year. This spike coincides with a 45 percent rise in the detained population, reflecting ICE’s aggressive expansion of immigration detention.

Pedro Cantú Ríos, a 68-year-old Mexican detainee at an Alaska jail, described one harrowing episode where guards fired chemical agents into a common area after detainees complained about lack of access to personal belongings. “I thought I was going to die,” Cantú Ríos recalled, gasping for air due to a lung condition. Despite detainees’ repeated requests for basic legal entitlements like food, water, and medical care, ICE staff often responded with excessive force.

Experts point to overcrowding, understaffing, and inadequate training as likely drivers behind the surge in violence. Jeff Schwartz, a police trainer and law professor, noted that the combination of these factors creates a volatile environment ripe for abuse.

ICE spokesperson Lauren Bis defended the agency’s actions, insisting officers receive extensive training to use the minimum force necessary and prioritize safety. She claimed ICE maintains “a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens.” Yet the records tell a starkly different story—one of routine, often brutal, force used not as a last resort but as a first response to detainee demands.

The reports also highlight troubling contradictions. For example, an incident report from the Alaska facility described detainees loudly demanding their property and refusing orders to return to cells but made no mention of any violent behavior warranting chemical agent deployment. ICE’s own standards prohibit force as punishment and require it only when detainees act violently or appear on the verge of violence.

This investigation adds to mounting evidence of systemic abuses inside ICE detention centers, where overcrowding and lack of oversight exacerbate human rights violations. As the Trump administration pushes for expanded immigration enforcement, these documents underscore the urgent need for accountability and reform to protect vulnerable detainees from unchecked brutality.

For those fighting for immigrant rights and government transparency, this exposé is a clarion call: the crisis inside ICE detention is not just about numbers—it’s about the human toll of unchecked force and institutional cruelty.