Pressroom

Nationwide — Detention Watch Network (DWN), in partnership with the End the ICE Age campaign and Disappeared in America, a project of the Not Above the Law Coalition, marked Day of the Dead, a widely celebrated holiday rooted in Latin America, with over 70 actions nationwide to honor and remember people who have died at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). People are dying in detention at a record rate and ICE agents are tearing families apart and shooting people on the streets, making people less safe, and causing chaos wherever they go. No one is safe when ICE is present. Fiscal year 2026 was the deadliest fiscal year in ICE’s history. Shockingly, there have been 60 deaths in ICE custody since Trump was inaugurated, at least 11 fatal shootings by ICE and Border Patrol agents, and an unknown number of deaths of people who were in ICE custody and then died shortly after their release.

Key actions occurred in Phoenix, Arizona, Miramar, Florida, Newark, New Jersey, Queens, New York, Saint Paul, Minnesota, Houston, Texas, El Paso, Texas, Los Angeles, California, and Washington, DC (b-roll footage from DC can be found here and photos can be found here).

ICE is massively expanding its detention system. The agency operates the largest immigrant detention system in the world and is now operating the largest federal law enforcement agency in the US with never-before-seen funding. Since August 2025, Congress has given ICE more than $113 billion, more than 10 times the agency’s typical annual budget. The result has been death, violence, and the loss of community safety. As people came together across the country to honor and remember beloved community members, advocates made their demands clear:

• ICE out of our communities, 
• Redirect ICE funding, and 
• Shut down ICE detention centers.

National partners include Detention Watch Network, End the ICE Age Campaign, Disappeared in America, NDLON, Maremoto, Public Citizen, Workers Circle, Popular Democracy, American Friends Service Committee, and Amnesty International USA. Groups issued the following statements:

Nanci Palacios Godinez, Membership and Organizing Director at Detention Watch Network, said: “ICE kills. People are dying in detention at a record rate and ICE agents are tearing families apart and shooting people on the streets, making people less safe, and causing chaos wherever they go — whether in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Houston, Biddeford or beyond. In immigrant detention, deprivation of freedom, isolation, uncertainty, and abysmal conditions, including inadequate medical care and mental health services, are a lethal combination that puts lives in jeopardy. No more abuse and death at the hands of ICE and no more ICE funding while people lose health care, struggle to pay rent and kids go hungry. To feel safe in our homes and build welcoming communities, we have to end the ICE Age.”

Erika Andiola, Political Director at NDLON, said: “On Day of the Dead, we honor workers like Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot and killed on his way to work in Houston, and Carlos Roberto Montoya, who lost his life fleeing an ICE raid at a Home Depot in California. These were parents, workers, breadwinners, and valued members of our communities whose lives were cut short by the cruelty of this mass deportation machine. We refuse to let their names be forgotten. To protect human rights and restore safety to our communities, we must stop funding this violence, get ICE out of our communities, and shut down these for-profit detention centers once and for all.”

"Día de los Muertos is a time to honor and remember loved ones we’ve lost. As ICE continues to tear apart families and people are dying in detention, remembrance must also be a call to action," said Ann Toback, CEO of the Workers Circle. "Too many people today are remembering family and friends who died because of our country's illegal and immoral attacks on immigrants and those trying to keep their immigrant friends and neighbors safe from harm. The national Days of Action bring together communities to honor those lost to ICE violence and demand change. Our democracy can only fulfill its promise when freedom, dignity and humanity are protected for everyone. Our message is clear: get ICE out of our communities, shut down detention centers and hold those responsible accountable."

“Trump’s violent and illegal deployment of ICE in cities across the country has stoked fear, broken families, and ended lives.” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen. “No one should fear being killed by an ICE agent or losing their loved ones in a detention center. It’s time to get ICE off our streets and out of our communities once and for all.”

Jess Morales Rocketto, Executive Director at Maremoto, said: “Every Día de Muertos, we welcome our ancestors home. This year, we’re also making room for people who should be home with their families right now. ICE stole them from us. So our ofrendas will hold our abuelos and tías right next to everyone that ICE turned into an ancestor too soon. We won’t forget them, and we won’t let ICE forget them either. We’re carrying their fight to the ballot box and beyond, until we win justice, accountability and ICE out of all of our communities.”

Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA said: “As communities across the world gather to honor their loved ones who have passed for Día de Los Muertos, we are also honoring the lives that have been unjustly taken by ICE and CBP and demanding change. As the Trump administration's anti-immigrant operations continue to inflict suffering, spread fear, tear families apart, and take lives, the death toll continues to rise. There have now been 60 people who have died in ICE detention, and more who have been killed in the streets by agents acting with impunity. We join today with people across the country who are refusing to accept these human rights violations as the norm. There is a clear path forward: abolish ICE and build a system that respects the dignity and human rights of all people."

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Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.

The Workers Circle is a national, secular Jewish social justice organization founded by Eastern European immigrants who fled pogroms and persecutions to seek democratic freedoms and build “a better and more beautiful world for all” at the turn of the 20th century. That history drives our work for human equality and robust democracy today. Our multigenerational activist community of 250,000+ people powers our strategic, non-partisan campaigns to empower voters, strengthen Constitutional rights, and build a durable, grassroots infrastructure to demand the multiracial democracy we need. Core campaigns of the Workers Circle include freedom vigils, talk to your sheriff, democracy circles, and voter empowerment.

Maremoto is a home for visionary change where Latinos have the freedom to build civic, media, and cultural power for our communities. We develop inspirational, bold, scaled solutions that transform lives, celebrate the places we call home, and claim our collective power to demand Latinos’ rightful place in U.S. democracy.