On April 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the death of 61 year-old Salvador Vargas at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA which occurred on April 4. Deaths in ICE custody are far too common, and particularly devastating in detention centers with a history of medical neglect [and falsifying documents to cover up murder] Though this is the first reported death in ICE custody in 2023, this reporting can be misleading. ICE has repeatedly released critically-ill individuals from detention (most often to a hospital) to distance themselves from responsibility for an immigrant’s eventual death. There is an L.A. Times article detailing the practice of releasing people from custody so they can die somewhere that isn’t their property.
Deaths in ICE detention hit a 15-year high in fiscal year 2020, coinciding with the outbreak of COVID-19 and its devastating impact on people held in jails, prisons, and detention centers. While the pandemic contributed to some of the increase in deaths, overall conditions in detention when the Trump administration was detaining a record 50,000+ people, contributed to the high death toll.
It is not just adults dying in immigration custody.
In recent months, at least seven children have either died in custody or after being detained by federal immigration agencies at the border.
American Civil Liberties Union https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/immigrant-kids-keep-dying-cbp-detention
The U.S. government has acknowledged these atrocities and they appear in a report released Thursday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee [which appears to have been removed from the government’s website]. It is mentioned briefly in this report by the oversight committee.
There is even a video of guards allowing a mentally ill man in immigration custody die from self-inflicted wounds, which I linked to below.
This video was taken at the Stewart Detention Center. The Stewart Detention Center, owned and operated by private prison company CoreCivic, is one of the largest immigration jails in the country — and the deadliest. Since 2017, eight people detained at Stewart have died: four from complications with Covid-19 and two by suicide, including Romero. Two others died of pneumonia and a heart attack.
In December, medical examiners concluded that 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin, who also died in CBP custody, succumbed to “a rapidly progressive infection” that shut down her vital organs. CBP sent Jakelin on a 90-mile bus ride to another location after she was taken into custody, even though her father had told officials she was vomiting and feeling ill before they left.
CBP officials said last year that Jakelin waited an hour and a half to receive emergency medical care after showing symptoms. Deaths of several other migrant children were reported in just eight months following her death.
CBP holding facilities are “basically concrete floors with mats and barbed wire fencing and bright lights 24/7,” Linton said. “That can be a very disorienting environment to children.”
This is deeply disturbing as is the lack of news coverage and the lack of outrage.
The number of deaths in ICE custody increased dramatically during the 2020 fiscal year, which ends September 30. Eight of the 21 deaths in ICE custody were linked to Covid-19.
Note: Annual totals are for fiscal years, which run from October 1-September 30.
Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Congress mandates that DHS post a list of the names and dates of death of individuals that died while being detained by ICE for immigration infractions, though this list does not include many people who died in custody for various reasons. You can see the official list here. So far in 2023 DHS acknowledges just a few of the several confirmed deaths that took place in their custody.
2023
| Date of Death | Name |
|---|---|
| October 13, 2022 | Mendoza, Melvin Ariel Calero |
| March 5, 2023 | Dumitrascu, Cristian |
| April 4, 2023 | Rosales-Vargas, Salvador |
| June 23, 2023 | Rocha-Cuadra, Ernesto |
2022
| Date of Death | Name |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2021 | Sanchez-Gotopo, Pablo |
| July 8, 2022 | Gonzalez-Soto, Benjamin |
| August 24, 2022 | Vial, Kesley |
2021
| Date of Death | Name |
|---|---|
| December 17, 2020 | Jones, Anthony |
| January 30, 2021 | Montes, Felipe |
| February 5, 2021 | Dean, Jesse |
| March 15, 2021 | Gallego-Agudelo, Diego Fernando |
| August 3, 2021 | Centeno-Briones, Elba Maria |
2020
| Date of Death | Name |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2019 | Abienwi, Nebane |
| October 15, 2019 | Hernandez-Diaz, Roylan |
| December 21, 2019 | Akinyemi, Anthony Oluseye |
| December 29, 2019 | Mavinga, Samuelino |
| January 25, 2020 | Owen, Ben James |
| January 27, 2020 | Hernandez-Fundora, Alberto |
| February 20, 2020 | Hernandez-Colula, David |
| March 8, 2020 | Ochoa-Yoc De Ramirez, Maria Celeste |
| March 18, 2020 | Carcamo-Navarro, Orlan Ariel |
| March 21, 2020 | Hernandez-Ibarra, Ramiro |
| May 6, 2020 | Escobar-Mejia, Carlos Ernesto |
| May 17, 2020 | Ahn, Choung Woong |
| May 24, 2020 | Baten-Oxlaj, Santiago |
| July 12, 2020 | Perez-Montufa, Onoval |
| July 15, 2020 | Sanchez-Perez, Luis (aka Hernandez-Cabrera, Mauricio) |
| August 5, 2020 | Hill, James Tomas |
| August 5, 2020 | Lee, Kuan Hui |
| August 10, 2020 | Guillen Vega, Jose Freddy |
| August 28, 2020 | Sabonger-Garcia, Fernando |
| September 21, 2020 | Chavez Alvarez, Cipriano |
| September 26, 2020 | Jally, Romien |