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Border czar Tom Homan accused a CBS journalist of asking a “loaded question” in a Friday interview about how ICE treats detained illegal migrants, asking him whether he gathered statistics about migrant deaths under the Biden administration.
CBS News’ immigration correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez asked Homan about deaths in ICE custody under the Trump administration, noting that this year could set a “new record high.”
“We looked at official ICE data, sir, and found that 57 people have died in the agency’s custody so far under this administration,” Montoya-Galvez said. “In fact, somebody was just reported to have died in ICE custody today by the agency. 2026 could set a new record high in the number of detainees dying. What is being done to prevent that? And I know one partial explanation is that more people are being detained and, so tragically, more people are dying. But that can’t be the only explanation, can it be?”
“How many people died during the Biden administration?” Homan immediately replied, followed by a long pause. “How many people died in custody during the Biden administration? Do you know?”
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White House border czar Tom Homan talks with reporters at the White House, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“A significant number,” Montoya-Galvez replied.
“Do you know?” Homan pressed further.
“But this is going to be the highest year in 2026,” Montoya-Galvez continued. “I’m just asking if the pace continues —”
“Do you know how many died during the Biden administration?” Homan pressed again.
“I don’t have the data here,” the CBS interviewer admitted.
“Of course you don’t,” Homan said. “Again, it’s another loaded question against the Trump administration.”
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White House border czar Tom Homan accused a CBS News immigration correspondent of asking him a “loaded question” about detainee deaths in ICE custody. (Kamil Krzaczynski /AFP via Getty)
Homan said that ICE maintains the highest standards for detention centers.
“We have the highest detention standards in industry, higher than any state or federal institution. Our deaths in custody … are among the lowest of any state prison or Bureau of Prisons. Numbers are up because our population has doubled in custody. We got over 70 — I think the other day we had like 74,000 in custody,” he said.
Homan went on to argue that the quality of ICE medical care is so high to the point detainees are helped with medical issues they didn’t even know they had.
“So we have more people in custody, and we’re dealing with people from third-world nations,” he said. “Some of the first doctors they see are our doctors. And matter of fact, no one ever talks about how many lives that ICE saves in detention when they found a serious medical issue that the alien didn’t even know about and we treat. When I was ICE director, I think we spent almost a billion dollars on medical care.”
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U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents from the Tucson Sector and Air and Marine Operations (AMO) participate in a demonstration of the rescue of a migrant lost in the Brown Canyon desert near Sasabe, Arizona. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)
He compared ICE detention to federal or state prisons.
“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. And again, highest detention standards,” Homan said. “I think if you look at deaths in custody compared to state prisons or federal penitentiaries, I think we’re one of the lowest. At least the last time I looked at the data — it was probably a couple years ago — we’re the lowest.”
Theo Wold, a former acting assistant attorney general and deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during President Donald Trump’s first administration, criticized Montoya-Galvez’s questions in comments to Fox News Digital.
“This is what passes for journalism in modern America — a reporter comes prepared with gotcha questions but no backup data,” he said. “The purpose isn’t to inform the public (which ought to be the goal of journalism), it’s to manufacture ideological sound bites for the nightly news.”
“No one wants in-custody deaths, but no administration can avoid them,” Wold added. “The Trump Administration has more than doubled Biden-era enforcement, which means more individuals detained and more in-custody deaths, most often through no fault of ICE or its enforcement officers.”
