WASHINGTON — At least 11 immigrants died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody between January 2026 and early March, according to ICE. This follows 31 deaths last year, the highest in two decades.
Died: March 2 at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona
ICE took Damas into custody after he was arrested for assault and battery in Boston in September 2025, ICE said. Damas was taken to the Florence Detention Center in Florence, Arizona. ICE said he reported shortness of breath on Feb. 19 and was sent to a local hospital before being transferred to a Phoenix hospital and placed in the intensive care unit.
He was intubated on a ventilator the next day and died on March 2 of an unknown cause, ICE said. In an interview with the Associated Press, his brother said he died due to an untreated toothache and related infection.
In response to a request for comment, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security referred to a public statement from ICE that did not mention any dental issue.
Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi
Died: March 1 at a hospital in Natchez, Mississippi
ICE took Karshenas into custody in April 2025 after he was convicted of possession of fentanyl, ICE said. He had multiple chronic medical conditions but remained detained and was transferred in October 2025 to the Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Angola, a facility opened under the Trump administration, according to ICE.
On February 20, 2026, he was re-evaluated by ICE paramedics and then transferred to a long-term care hospital, where he suffered a cardiac arrest on March 1. He was taken to Merit Health Hospital in Natchez, Mississippi, where he was pronounced dead, ICE said.
Died: Feb. 27 at a medical center in Victorville, Calif
Gutierrez was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Los Angeles in January, ICE said. On Feb. 25, he felt faint and was admitted to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for chest pain and shortness of breath, according to ICE. He became unresponsive and died on Feb. 27, ICE said.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez said in a statement that her office has been in contact with his family and that he was denied medical care while in ICE custody.
In response to a request for comment, the Department of Homeland Security said that everyone in ICE custody is provided with comprehensive medical care.
Died: Feb. 16 at a Miami hospital
ICE took Garcia into custody after local police ran into him near Rochester, New York on Jan. 21, 2025, the agency said. ICE said he was immunocompromised and “already in poor health” when he was detained. On February 16, 2026, more than a year after he was taken into custody, he unexpectedly collapsed and died, according to ICE.
Died: February 16 at the Miami Correctional Facility in Miami County, Indiana
Sim entered the U.S. as a refugee in 1983 but was ordered deported after several convictions, ICE said. After arriving at the ICE office in Boston on Dec. 30, 2025, he was detained and then transferred to a detention center in Indiana, the agency said.
ICE officers found Sim unresponsive in his cell on Feb. 16 and he was pronounced dead by staff and emergency personnel, ICE said, adding that the incident is under investigation.
Died: January 14 at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas
Staff at the detention center, located on the Fort Bliss campus, found Diaz unconscious and unresponsive in his room on Jan. 14, and he was pronounced dead a short time later, ICE said. ICE said the incident was investigated, but he died of a “presumed suicide.”
Died: January 14 at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Center in Lovejoy, Georgia
Sanchaz was detained by ICE after he was arrested in Georgia for driving without a license, ICE said. He was found “hanging by his neck and unresponsive in his bedrooms” and later pronounced dead at a local hospital, ICE said. The agency said the incident is under investigation.
Died: Jan. 9 at a Philadelphia hospital
ICE said La was being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia following his Jan. 6 arrest and was being treated for “severe drug withdrawal” when he was found unresponsive in his cell. He was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was diagnosed with brain and organ failure and pronounced dead on Jan. 9, ICE said.
Died: Jan. 6 at a hospital in Indio, California
Beltran was arrested by federal immigration officials in Newark, New Jersey, in November, according to ICE. At some point he was moved to the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California. On Jan. 4, he complained of chest pain and was taken to a hospital, where he died two days later, ICE said.
Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres
Died: Jan. 5 at a Houston-area hospital
Nunez was arrested during an immigration operation in Houston on Nov. 17, 2025, ICE said. He was eventually transferred to the Joe Corley Processing Center in Conroe, Texas.
On Dec. 23, 2025, he was taken to HCA Houston Healthcare in Conroe “due to an exacerbation of congestive heart failure,” ICE said. He was pronounced dead on Jan. 5 after “multiple life-threatening medical emergencies,” ICE said.
Died: Jan. 3 at Camp East Montana Detention Center in El Paso, Texas
Lunas died Jan. 3 at Camp East Montana, a prison opened by the Trump administration on the grounds of Fort Bliss, Texas, according to ICE. The agency initially said he had experienced a “medical emergency” and that they were investigating the incident.
The Washington Post reported later that month that the local coroner was likely to rule the death a homicide. The Post also interviewed a detainee held at Camp East Montana who said he saw guards choke Lunas when he refused to enter solitary confinement.
Following the report, the Department of Homeland Security released a new statement saying Lunas attempted to take his own life while being held at the detention center.
DHS said security personnel “immediately intervened to save his life” but that Lunas “violently resisted” security personnel.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
