Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday that a Mexican national and former DACA recipient had died in their custody after being transferred to a local hospital in Victorville.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39 was pronounced dead Sunday at the Victor Valley Global Medical Center, according to an ICE statement.
Ayala-Uribe is now the 14th detainee to die in immigration detention since January, when federal immigration officials began to carry out President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
News of his death comes on the day that two Democratic senators from Georgia sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising concerns about the rise in the number of deaths in ICE custody, in particular two that occurred at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. NPR was the first to report on the letter.
In July, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga) released the findings of a probe into alleged human rights violations that have occurred at immigration detention centers, including dozens of reports of physical and sexual abuse, and mistreatment of pregnant women and children. DHS rejected the senator’s allegations in a statement.
In California, the Adelanto Detention Center, one of the largest in the state, has long been the focus of complaints from detainees, attorneys and state and federal inspectors about inadequate medical care, overly restrictive segregation and lax mental health services.
In June, critics — including some staff who work inside — told The Times that conditions inside the detention center were unsafe and unsanitary. The facility, they said, was unprepared to handle the large waves of detainees pouring into the center.
That month, U.S. Rep Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), toured the detention center with four other Democratic members of Congress from California amid concern over the increasing number of detainees and deteriorating conditions inside.
The facility’s manager “has to clearly improve its treatment of these detainees,” Chu said at a news conference after inspecting the facility.
Some of the detainees told lawmakers they were held inside Adelanto for 10 days without a change of clothes, underwear or towels, Chu said. Others said they had been denied access to a telephone to speak to loved ones and lawyers, even after repeatedly filling out forms.
A spokesperson for DHS could not immediately be reached for comment on Sunday’s death. But the agency said in its statement about Ayala-Uribe that immigration agencies such as ICE and Customs and Border Protection are committed to ensuring the safety of people who are in their custody.
“Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay,” the agency’s statement read. “All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergent care.”
According to the agency statement, Ayala-Uribe, a Mexican national, was being held at a processing center in Adelanto where he had been seen by an on-call medical provider, who prescribed medication to him, although immigration officials did not say why.
But three days later, Ayala-Uribe was sent to the Victor Valley Global Medical Center to further evaluate an “abscess on his buttock” and was scheduled to undergo surgery for it, the statement said.
“Ayala was also hypertensive and displayed abnormal tachycardia,” immigration officials wrote in the statement. “At 1:48 a.m. the [medical center] declared Ayala unresponsive and initiated lifesaving measures. He was declared deceased at 2:32 a.m. by medical staff.”
According to ICE, Ayala-Uribe entered the United States at an unknown date and location. He applied for, and received, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protection in 2012. He was sentenced to three years probation after he was convicted of driving while under the influence in 2015, the agency said.
In 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied his application to renew his DACA status. He was convicted of his second DUI in June 2019 and sentenced to 120 days in jail, plus five years of probation, according to ICE.
Ayala-Uribe was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Aug. 17 and transferred to Adelanto on Aug. 22.
Immigration officials said the cause of death is still under investigation. The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill of 2018 requires that ICE make public reports regarding any in-custody deaths within 90 days.
ICE officials said they make official notifications to Congress, nongovernmental organization stakeholders and the media about a detainee’s death and post a news release with relevant details on its website within two business days per the agency’s policy.
Ayala-Uribe’s family has organized a fundraiser, selling tamales, carnitas and pozole on Saturday, to raise money for his funeral.
Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
