Mexican immigrant died in US immigration custody, ICE says, marking 14 deaths in 2026

WASHINGTON – A Mexican immigrant died in US immigration custody in Los Angeles on March 25, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on March 30, marking at least 14 deaths in ICE custody in 2026.

Mr Jose Guadalupe Ramos, who was being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk by security staff, ICE said in a press statement. The staff called on-site medical personnel and he was transferred to an area hospital where he was declared dead, ICE said.

US President Donald Trump launched a mass deportation effort after taking office in 2025, pledging to detain and deport millions of immigrants living in the US illegally.

The number of immigrants in ICE detention has reached record levels, with 68,000 locked up as at early February, despite criticism by opponents who say detention is overly punitive and potentially deadly.

At least 31 people died in ICE detention in 2025, a two-decade high, and the current pace threatens to eclipse that.

Mr Ramos was arrested by ICE in Torrance, California, on Feb 23, the agency said. He was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and theft of personal property in 2025, ICE said. ICE said an initial health screening when he was taken into custody showed diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.

Mr Ramos' death was the fourth of a detainee held at Adelanto since Mr Trump took office. The other three were also Mexican men.

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said it would file a legal brief in support of a lawsuit brought by detainees alleging poor conditions at the detention centre, including inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions and punitive use of isolation.

The ministry will also raise the issue of immigration detainee deaths to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

During a press conference at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles, Mexican diplomat Vanessa Calva Ruiz said the latest death was part of “an alarming, unacceptable trend” since Mr Trump took office in 2025.

“These deaths reveal systemic failures, operational deficiencies and possible negligence,” she said.

While ICE has not published official detention statistics in March, the number of people in custody dropped to about 60,000 as of last week, a source familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity to share internal figures.

A Republican-backed spending Bill passed in 2025 gave ICE a massive funding increase that allows the agency to detain more than 100,000 people at any given time. REUTERS