White House border czar Tom Homan clashed with CBS News immigration correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez after the journalist questioned [1] him about deaths among illegal migrants held in ICE custody under the Trump administration.
Montoya-Galvez cited official ICE data and said 57 people had died in the agency’s custody so far under the administration. He also said another death had been reported by ICE that day.
“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.”
The correspondent warned that 2026 could set a new record for detainee deaths. “What is being done to prevent that?” he asked.
Montoya-Galvez acknowledged that a larger detained population partially explained the increase in deaths. “But that can’t be the only explanation, can it be?” he asked.
Homan immediately turned the question back on the interviewer and demanded the corresponding figures from the previous administration. The exchange then paused.
“How many people died during the Biden administration?” Homan replied. “How many people died in custody during the Biden administration? Do you know?”
Montoya-Galvez answered that it was a significant number, but returned to his forecast about 2026. Homan pressed him again for the Biden administration data.
“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,” Homan added.
Homan defended ICE detention practices and said the agency maintains exceptional standards at its facilities. “We have the highest detention standards in industry, higher than any state or federal institution,” he said.
“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,” Homan said.
He argued that the larger detained population was central to understanding the raw number of deaths. He also said ICE is dealing with people arriving from developing countries who may not previously have received comparable medical attention.
“So we have more people in custody, and we’re dealing with people from third-world nations,” Homan said. “Some of the first doctors they see are our doctors.”
Homan said medical personnel at ICE facilities sometimes discover serious conditions that detainees did not know they had. He argued that those cases receive little attention compared with reports about deaths.
“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,” he said.
Homan also pointed to the scale of medical spending during his previous tenure leading ICE. “When I was ICE director, I think we spent almost a billion dollars on medical care.”
He compared ICE detention facilities with state prisons and federal penitentiaries while acknowledging the gravity of any death in custody. “Again, it’s unfortunate, and it’s sad when anybody dies,” Homan said.
“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,” he continued.
Homan said the last data he reviewed placed ICE among the institutions with the lowest rates of deaths in custody. He noted that his review had occurred a couple of years earlier.
“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.”
NEW: Tom Homan *TURNS TABLES* on CBS News immigration correspondent and STUMPS him
CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez asked Homan about deaths in ICE custody under Trump, claiming they “could set a new record high.”
While Montoya-Galvez noted the Trump Admin was detaining far more illegal immigrants, he argued that couldn’t be the sole reason.
Homan fired back by asking how many died in custody under Biden.
Montoya-Galvez sat silently for 4 seconds.
Homan asked again and again.
Montoya-Galvez had no idea what the answer was.
When he finally acknowledged he didn’t have the data, Homan retorted: “Of course you don’t.”
Homan asserted Montoya-Galvez’s question was an example of bias against Trump.
He also defended ICE’s detention standards.
Deaths in ICE detention are tragic, no matter which administration they occur under.
But it doesn’t seem like there was anywhere near as much attention on this issue under Biden.
Not only did Montoya-Galvez not know the data, it looks like he did not even cover ICE detention deaths under Biden.
No wonder Homan’s question stumped him.
— Jason Cohen (@JasonJournoDC) October 4, 2026 [2]
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 the CBS questioning 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,” Wold 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.”
Wold also said deaths in custody cannot be eliminated entirely by any administration.
“No one wants in-custody deaths, but no administration can avoid them,” Wold said. “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 .”