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Detainee Death Reporting

Detainee Death Reporting

Detainee Death Reporting

One of the agency’s highest priorities is detained noncitizen health care.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) national detention standards require facilities to provide comprehensive medical, dental and mental health care from the moment noncitizens arrive at a facility and throughout their time in ICE custody.

Many noncitizens may not have received recent or reliable medical treatment for existing conditions prior to entering ICE custody. For some individuals, this may represent their first access to comprehensive medical care.

Detained Noncitizen Deaths in ICE Custody

  • Any death that occurs in ICE custody is a significant cause for concern. ICE prioritizes the health, safety and well-being of all noncitizens in its custody.
  • In accordance with ICE national detention standards and policy, ICE employs a multilayered, interagency approach when a detained noncitizen passes away in ICE custody. Each facility must maintain written protocols in accordance with the ICE detainee death policy.
  • In the event of all detainee deaths, the Field Office Director with oversight of the relevant facility or AOR must report the death within 12 hours to the Assistant Director for Field Operations, Custody Management, the JIC and OPLA.
  • Under agency protocols, the agency conducts medical reviews as well as oversight and compliance investigations, timely prepares reports based on the finding of reviews and shares reports with appropriate parties and stakeholders
  • The ICE Office of Professional Responsibility then examines the circumstances surrounding the individual’s death and drafts a report to determine whether the agency adhered to all policies and protocols.
  • Once ICE completes its review, the results are provided to ICE senior management and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Reporting Detained Noncitizen Deaths

In 2021, ICE issued a policy — Notification, Review, and Reporting Requirements for Detainee Deaths — that governs the initial notification, review and ongoing reporting about the death of an individual in ICE custody. In accordance with the policy, ICE notifies the relevant parties and reports the death of any detained noncitizen in a timely, accurate and appropriate manner. ICE notifies the next of kin, appropriate consulate, relevant DHS and ICE stakeholders, U.S. Congress and the public about each detained noncitizen death.

Additionally, ICE posts a news release with relevant details on the agency’s public website within two business days.

Congressional Requirements

Congressional requirements in the DHS Appropriations Bill (2018) obligate ICE to make public all reports regarding in custody deaths within 90 days. Each detained noncitizen death, beginning with Fiscal Year 2018, is provided in the dropdown below.

FY 2024

Date of Death Name
October 8, 2023 Chirino Peralta, Julio Cesar
November 13, 2023 Shrestha, Subash
December 4, 2023 Juan Francisco, Carlos
December6, 2023 Okpu, Frankline

FY 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

FY 2022

Date of Death Name
October 1, 2021 Sanchez-Gotopo, Pablo
July 8, 2022 Gonzalez-Soto, Benjamin
August 24, 2022 Vial, Kesley

FY 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

FY 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

FY 2019

Date of Death Name
November 1, 2018 Padron, Wilfredo
November 18, 2018 Amar, Mergensana
November 30, 2018 Volkov, Guerman
April 3, 2019 Reyes-Clemente, Abel
May 3, 2019 Singh, Simratpal
June 30, 2019 Balderramos-Torres, Yimi Alexis
July 24, 2019 Arriago-Santoya, Pedro
September 10, 2019 Rodriguez-Espinoza, Roberto

FY 2018

Previous detainee death review documents that have been requested and provided via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request are also posted in the FOIA Library at https://www.ice.gov/foia/library

Updated: