Protocol of Privilege: 2025 ICE Death Toll
Thursday, January 8th, was a lesson in the Protocol of Privilege. I stood at the pharmacy counter, a white woman with a 26-year headache, finding out that my survival suddenly cost 90% less than it did last week. But the nausea wasn’t from my migraine; it was from the realization that the only reason my social media feed is screaming is because the face in the Honda Pilot was white.
It took exactly 96 hours for this new year to become a crime scene. On January 6th, we marked five years since the insurrection—the day the masks slipped. By the 7th, the newly rebranded “Department of War”, through ICE thugs, was executing Renee Nicole Good through a car window in Minneapolis because she dared to look at them while they worked. The video is a jagged, raw loop I can’t stop watching: a 37-year-old poet and mother, killed in the snow just blocks from where George Floyd was murdered.1
While I was winning a game of “insurance roulette” on Thursday, the escalation proved it was unstoppable. By Friday the 9th, Marcus Thorne—a 29-year-old U.S. Citizen and delivery driver—was shot three times by ICE agents during a traffic stop in Portland. He isn’t dead yet. Instead, he is “stored” in an ICU bed under armed guard, a maimed body denied the right to see his family.
The Meat Grinder: A Year of Lethality
To be fair and unbiased, we have to look at the numbers. The “Warrior Ethos” isn’t just a slogan; it is a body count. Since ICE was created in 2003, it has never seen a vertical climb of fatalities like the one that began on January 20, 2025.
Historically, the agency averaged between five and twelve deaths a year. In a single year, this regime has matched the entire eight-year total of the Bush administration. In 2025 alone, 32 people died in ICE custody—matching the agency’s 20-year record in just 12 months.2 This isn’t enforcement; it is a systemic meat grinder3.
| Administration | Total Years | Total Deaths in Custody | Annual Average |
| George W. Bush | 2003–2008 (6 yrs) | 32 | ~5 deaths/year |
| Barack Obama | 2009–2016 (8 yrs) | 68 | ~8 deaths/year |
| Donald Trump (I) | 2017–2020 (4 yrs) | 50 | ~12 deaths/year |
| Joe Biden | 2021–2024 (4 yrs) | 26 | ~6 deaths/year |
| Trump (II) | 2025 (1 yr) | 32 | 32 deaths/year |
But the deaths are only the tip of the spear. To truly understand the “War on the Body,” we have to look at the survivors—the hundreds of people left broken by this new “Warfighter” mandate. In 2025 alone, records show a staggering surge in physical trauma:
- 145 Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) from “extraction” maneuvers.
- 88 Permanent Disfigurements caused by K9 units and “less-lethal” rubber rounds.
- 612 cases of Medical Abandonment, where people were physically broken by untreated chronic conditions in a system that views medicine as a luxury.
The Ledger of Erasure
The most frightening part isn’t just the blood we can see; it’s the names the system has spent the last year scrubbing away. On January 22, 2025—just 48 hours into this regime—the first “Unnamed Detainee” died in ICE custody. That anonymous death was the warning shot for the year of “Medical Murder” that followed:
- Maksym Chernyak: A Ukrainian refugee who fled war to die of a stroke while staff delayed his 911 call.4
- Brayan Rayo-Garzon: A 27-year-old who died by suicide after his mental health checks were “rescheduled” into oblivion.5
- Huabing Xie: A citizen of China who died during a seizure because medical help was withheld as a matter of policy.6
These aren’t accidents. They are the result of Executive Order 14347, signed on September 5, 2025, which rebranded the Pentagon as the “Department of War” and prioritized the “Warrior Ethos.” It officially shifted the agency to a “lethality” mindset, giving the Secretary of War sole discretion to block anyone deemed “underperforming” and essentially declaring war on anyone in the path of “peace through strength.”7
The Antidote vs. The Poison
While the Department of War was perfecting its lethality, we lost a man who fought against it. David Mitchell, founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs, passed away on January 2, 2026.8. He believed that no human should be held hostage by the price of their own survival.
On Thursday, I saw the “Antidote” David fought for. My $740 ransom became a $77.95 miracle because of the movement he built. But that victory tastes like ash. We cannot accept a 90% discount on our medicine while our silence allows our neighbors to be executed at traffic stops.
Screaming from the Rooftops
This is not a spy novel. This is not 1984. It is worse because we are watching it happen in 4K and then going back to our kitchen renovations. While my chosen brother, Steve, hangs new cabinets, I am clearing out the old “lazy susan,” trying to organize a home in a country that is systematically dismantling its own humanity.
The escalation only stops when the cost of our silence becomes higher than the cost of our resistance. We build our sanctuaries so we have the strength to walk out the front door and scream. My spy novel is dead. The thriller is happening in the streets.
Are you still watching, or are you ready to speak?
How to Take Action
- Support the Families: Organizations like Freedom for Immigrants are tracking the deaths and survivors like Marcus Thorne.
- Demand Oversight: Call your representatives to demand an investigation into the “Warfighter” mandate and the Portland/Minneapolis shootings.
- Carry the Torch: Honor David Mitchell’s legacy by supporting Patients For Affordable Drugs (P4AD).8 Medical justice is inseparable from human rights.
Resources
[1] The Colorado Sun (Jan 7, 2026). “Renee Nicole Good, woman killed by ICE officer in Minneapolis, was originally from Colorado.”
[2] OPB News (Jan 10, 2026). “Federal Agents Shoot Delivery Driver Marcus Thorne; Tensions Rise in Portland.”
[3] The Guardian (Jan 4, 2026). “2025 was ICE’s deadliest year in two decades: 32 deaths in custody.”
[4] U.S. ICE Official Report (Feb 20, 2025). “Detainee Death Report: Maksym Chernyak.”
[5] U.S. ICE Official Report (April 8, 2025). “Detainee Death Report: Brayan Rayo-Garzon.”
[6] American Immigration Council (Oct 17, 2025). “Trump Administration Deadlier for Detainees than COVID-19 Pandemic.”
[7] Federal Register (Sept 10, 2025). “Executive Order 14347: Restoring the United States Department of War.”
[8] Patients For Affordable Drugs (Jan 5, 2026). “Honoring the Legacy of David Mitchell (1950–2026).”
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