April 18 (Reuters) - At least 17 immigrants have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody from January 2026 through early April, according to ICE. That follows 31 deaths last year, a two-decade high.
Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt
Died: April 12 at a federal detention center in Miami
Nationality: Cuban
Age: 27
A federal officer discovered Carbonell-Betancourt in what ICE described as an apparent suicide attempt at the detention center, according to a statement from the agency. The officer called a medical emergency, staff began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and City of Miami Fire Rescue personnel continued resuscitative efforts after they arrived, ICE said. Miami Fire Rescue pronounced Carbonell-Betancourt dead about an hour after he was discovered, ICE said.
Alejandro Cabrera Clemente
Died: April 11 at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana
Nationality: Mexican
Age: 49
Cabrera was found unresponsive at the detention center, ICE said, and staff attempted to resuscitate him. He was taken to a local hospital where, after further life-saving efforts, he was declared dead, according to ICE.
Tuan Van Bui
Died: April 1 at the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana
Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 55
Bui was found unresponsive and declared dead at the scene, ICE said. The cause of death remains under investigation.
Jose Guadalupe Ramos
Died: March 25 at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Los Angeles
Nationality: Mexican
Ramos was found unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk by security staff, ICE said. The staff called on-site medical personnel and he was transferred to an area hospital where he was declared dead, ICE said.
Royer Perez Jimenez
Died: March 16 at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida
Nationality: Mexican
Age: 19
Perez Jimenez's death was a presumed suicide, ICE said, while the official cause of death was under investigation after he was found unresponsive in the early hours. The detention center's staff unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him for nearly 10 minutes after he was found, according to ICE.
Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal
Died: March 14 at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas
Nationality: Afghan
Age: 41
Paktiawal, an Afghan immigrant who previously worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the U.S., died in ICE custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas, a U.S. veteran-led advocacy group said.
In a statement, ICE said Paktiawal was eating breakfast when medical staff noted that his tongue had become swollen, prompting a medical response. He was declared dead only after multiple attempts at resuscitation, the agency said.
Emanuel Cleeford Damas
Died: March 2 at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona
Nationality: Haitian
ICE took Damas into custody after he was arrested on assault and battery charges in September 2025 in Boston, ICE said. Damas was transferred to the Florence Detention Center in Florence, Arizona. ICE said he reported shortness of breath on February 19 and was sent to a local hospital and then transferred to a Phoenix hospital and placed in an intensive care unit.
He was intubated on a ventilator the following day and died on March 2, with the cause unknown, ICE said. In an interview with the Associated Press, his brother said he had 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 ICE's public statement, which did not mention any dental issue.
Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi
Died: March 1 at a hospital in Natchez, Mississippi
Nationality: Iranian
Age: 59
ICE took Karshenas into custody in April 2025 after he was convicted of 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, according to ICE.
On February 20, 2026, ICE health staff evaluated him again and he was then transferred to a hospital for long-term care, where he went into cardiac arrest on March 1. He was transferred to the Merit Health Hospital in Natchez, Mississippi, where he was pronounced dead, ICE said.
Alberto Gutierrez Reyes
Died: February 27 at a medical center in Victorville, California
Nationality: Mexican
Age: 48
Gutierrez was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Los Angeles in January, ICE said. He reported feeling faint on February 25 and was admitted to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for chest pain and shortness of breath, ICE said. He became unresponsive and died on February 27, ICE said.
Los Angeles City Council member Eunisses Hernandez said in a statement that her office had been in touch with his family and that he had been denied medical care while in ICE custody.
In response to a request for comment, the Department of Homeland Security said comprehensive medical care is provided to everyone in ICE detention.
Jairo Garcia Hernandez
Died: February 16 at a hospital in Miami
Nationality: Guatemalan
Age: 27
ICE took Garcia into custody after he was encountered by local police near Rochester, New York, on January 21, 2025,. ICE said he was immunocompromised and was "already in ill health" when he was detained. On February 16, 2026,he collapsed unexpectedly and died,.
Lorth Sim
Died: February 16 at the Miami Correctional Facility in Miami County, Indiana
Nationality: Cambodian
Age: 59
Sim entered the U.S. as a refugee in 1983 but had been ordered deported following several convictions,. He was detained after arriving at an ICE office in Boston on December 30,and then transferred to the Indiana detention center,.
ICE staff found Sim unresponsive in his cell on February 16 and he was pronounced dead by staff and emergency personnel,. It said that the incident was under investigation.
Victor Manuel Diaz
Died: January 14 at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas
Nationality: Nicaraguan
Age: 36
Staff at the detention center,found Diaz unconscious and unresponsive in his room on January 14 and he was pronounced dead shortly after,. ICE said the incident was under investigation but that he died of "presumed suicide."