Deaths in ICE custody rise as scrutiny grows over detention conditions

Another death inside a US immigration facility is adding pressure on authorities, as concerns mount over conditions in detention during President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Mexican national Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano was found unresponsive at a processing centre in California last week and later died in hospital.

Ramos-Solano is one of around 14 detainees who have died in ICE custody so far this year. The figure follows a sharp increase last year, when at least 32 people died in detention, compared to 11 the year before Trump returned to office.

ICE said Ramos-Solano, who had been in custody since last month, suffered from underlying health conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.

“He received constant medical care while he was in custody, including daily medication to treat his illness,” the agency said.

But the explanation has done little to ease criticism. Rights advocates have increasingly questioned the adequacy of medical care in ICE facilities, especially as deaths continue to rise.

The issue is also drawing international attention. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government would respond to the latest death.

“We’re now going to take further action. We’re going to take several steps to protest the death of yet another Mexican national in the United States,” she said, according to Reuters.

Recent cases have reinforced concerns about how deaths in custody are handled. Earlier this month, Afghan asylum seeker Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal died after being taken to a hospital in Texas, where ICE said he had complained of “shortness of breath and chest pains”.

In another case, 19-year-old Mexican immigrant Royer Perez-Jimenez died in Florida in what ICE described as a “presumed suicide”. He had been charged, but not convicted, of minor offences.

Some incidents have raised more serious questions. When Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos died in January, ICE initially cited “medical distress”. A medical examiner later ruled the death a homicide, forcing a revision of the official account. The Department of Homeland Security said Campos had been attempting to harm himself and “violently resisted the security staff” before losing consciousness.

These cases are fuelling calls for independent investigations and greater transparency around detention conditions.

The broader context is a significant expansion of immigration enforcement. Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has pushed a nationwide campaign to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. The measures have also extended to some legal residents, including individuals involved in activism related to Israel’s war in Gaza.

Enforcement actions have not been without controversy. Earlier this year, federal agents killed two people in Minnesota during a prolonged immigration operation that triggered protests.