At least 17 immigrants died in ICE custody from January to early April

WASHINGTON: At least 17 immigrants died while in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2026 through early April, according to the agency. The figure follows 31 deaths recorded last year, which ICE said was the highest annual total in two decades.

Among the most recent cases, Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt of Cuba died on April 12 at a federal detention centre in Miami. In a statement, ICE said a federal officer found him during what the agency described as an apparent suicide attempt at the facility.

Alejandro Cabrera Clemente of Mexico died on April 11 at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. ICE said he was found unresponsive at the detention centre and staff tried to revive him. He was then taken to a local hospital, where he was declared dead after further life-saving efforts, according to the agency.

Tuan Van Bui of Vietnam died on April 1 at the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana. ICE said he was found unresponsive and was declared dead at the scene. The agency said the cause of death remains under investigation.

Jose Guadalupe Ramos of Mexico died on March 25 at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Los Angeles. ICE said security staff found him unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk. On-site medical personnel were called and he was transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Royer Perez Jimenez of Mexico died on March 16 at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida. ICE said his death was a presumed suicide, while adding that the official cause remained under investigation after he was found unresponsive in the early hours.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal died on March 14 at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. A US veteran-led advocacy group said Paktiawal, an Afghan immigrant who had previously worked with the US military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the United States, died in ICE custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas. In its statement, ICE said he was eating breakfast when medical staff noticed that his tongue had swollen, prompting a medical response. The agency said he was declared dead after multiple attempts at resuscitation.

Emanuel Cleeford Damas of Haiti died on March 2 at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona. ICE said Damas had been taken into custody after his arrest on assault and battery charges in Boston in September 2025.

Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi of Iran died on March 1 at a hospital in Natchez, Mississippi. ICE said he had been taken into custody in April 2025 after a conviction for fentanyl possession. The agency said he had several chronic health conditions but remained detained, and was transferred in October 2025 to the Louisiana ICE Processing Center, a facility opened under the Trump administration.

Other deaths listed by ICE

ICE said the other people who died in its custody during the period included Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, Jairo Garcia Hernandez, Lorth Sim, Victor Manuel Diaz, Parady La, Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres and Geraldo Lunas Campos.

The agency’s figures cover the period from January through early April 2026. The latest deaths came after 31 immigrants died in ICE custody in 2025, a total the agency described as a two-decade high.