Mexican migrant dies in ICE custody

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On March 25, a Mexican immigrant died in Los Angeles while in U.S. immigration custody, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. Thus, at least 14 people have died in ICE custody in 2026.

Jose Guadalupe Ramos was found unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk by security personnel at the ICE processing center in Adelanto, ICE said in a press release. Officers called medical personnel to the scene and he was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, ICE said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of Ramos in Torrance, California, on February 23. He was convicted in 2025 of possession of a substance and theft of personal property, according to ICE. ICE also said an initial medical examination upon arrest revealed he had diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.

Ramos' death was the fourth death of an inmate held at Adelanto since Trump took office. Three others were also Mexican.

Mexico's reaction

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said it will file a legal opinion in support of a lawsuit brought by detainees who allege poor conditions at the detention center, including inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions and the use of isolation as punishment. Mexico will also raise the issue of deaths in immigration detention with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

At a news conference at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles, Mexican diplomat Vanessa Calva Ruiz said the latest death was part of a "disturbing and unacceptable trend" seen since Trump took office in 2025.

Deaths in migrant detention centers

US President Donald Trump, after taking office in 2025, began large-scale deportation of migrants from the United States, and also began to allocate more money to ICE, which began to recruit more and more agents.

The number of immigrants in ICE custody has reached a record high, with 68,000 people in custody as of early February.

At least 31 people will die in ICE detention centers in 2025, the highest number in two decades, and the current pace could surpass that, Reuters writes.

ICE and arbitrary detention

Criticism of ICE intensified after service officers killed two US citizens at once in January 2026 in Minnesota. On January 7, Renee Goode was killed , and on January 24, US citizen and nurse Alex Pretty .

Prior to this, there were major ICE raids in Minnesota. Most of the immigrant arrests made by federal agents during Minnesota's crackdown on illegal immigration last winter involved people without criminal records, according to an analysis of newly released government data by The Intercept.

The data refutes a common White House thesis put forth during the massive immigration operation: that ICE agents were arresting thousands of “dangerous, criminal illegal aliens.”

From December 2025 to mid-March 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made 4,030 arrests in the state. Of those arrests, a staggering 2,532, or 63%, were of individuals with no criminal records or pending criminal cases, according to previously unpublished data.

What do the experts say?

In a conversation with DOXA, an American political scientist, who wished to remain anonymous, draws attention to the sharp increase in mortality in migrant detention centers in the United States over the past two years, since Donald Trump came to power.

“This is not a common situation, but we have seen that over the past two years the number of deaths in detention centers for illegal migrants has increased sharply,” the expert says. According to him, 13 deaths have already been recorded in the first months of 2006 alone, while for the entire 2005 there were 33. “This is the largest figure in the last 20 years.”

He emphasizes that there are several reasons for what is happening. “Firstly, most of these centers are migration prisons, and they are run by private, non-state companies. Secondly, the number of detained migrants has increased sharply, and there simply are not enough places to hold them.”

As a result, living conditions are deteriorating: “People are in very cramped conditions and often do not receive adequate medical care. Moreover, we are not talking about some highly professional help - sometimes about the most basic things, at the level of “giving a pill for your head.” And even with this there are big problems.”

The expert notes that even relative indicators are getting worse: “If you look at the number of deaths per 10 thousand detainees, now this figure is approaching six. That's a lot." According to him, the rate was higher “only during the AIDS epidemic,” which is also due to the conditions of detention: “Overcrowding, morbidity, inadequate medical care - all this directly affects mortality.”

The American political scientist also notes a decline in trust in the migration police. ICE “We see very low ratings - they have dropped significantly over the past two years,” says a DOXA source. Moreover, according to him, the decline is recorded “both among Democrats and non-partisans, and among Republicans - albeit not at such a rapid pace.”

At the same time, support for Trump’s immigration policy is falling. “There are already a whole series of surveys where about half of respondents are in favor of completely dismantling the immigration police.” The expert emphasizes: “This is an idea that was previously considered marginal - the lot of the left wing of the Democratic Party. Now it’s starting to gain popularity.”

“More and more democrats are talking about it directly: it is impossible to reform this structure, it needs to be dissolved and a new one created,” he adds.

According to the expert, the Trump administration is responding to the decline in popularity, albeit gradually. “The White House is already saying that we need to abandon the term ‘mass deportations’ because it is starting to irritate voters.”

There have also been personnel changes: “We saw the departure of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and the arrival of a new secretary - former Republican Senator from Oklahoma Mullen. Hopes are pinned on him for changes in the work of structures.”

At the same time, the raids themselves continue, but their format is changing. “They are trying to move away from demonstration operations, as was the case in Minnesota,” says the expert. He recalls that then “several thousand security forces came and began to detain people indiscriminately, based, among other things, on the color of their skin,” which sparked protests.

“This caused great irritation and opposition from local residents. In the end, it all ended with the killing of two protesters,” he notes.

“Now they are trying to gradually abandon such practices, but it is not yet very clear what form the new migration policy will ultimately take,” the expert sums up.