US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed the death of a 19-year-old Mexican man, Royer Perez-Jimenez, while in detention at the Glades County Detention Center in Florida. In a statement, ICE said Perez-Jimenez was found "unconscious and unresponsive" in his cell on Monday, March 16, at 02:34 (07:34 GMT). Prison staff "immediately" began life-saving efforts, but he died of a presumed suicide, with the official cause of death still under investigation.

According to US media reports, Perez-Jimenez is the youngest prisoner to die in ICE custody since Donald Trump returned to office and launched a nationwide immigration crackdown. He was arrested in January and charged with fraud for impersonation and misdemeanor resisting an officer, having illegally entered the US at an unknown date. Upon admission to the jail, he "denied any behavioral health issues or concerns and answered 'no' to all suicide screening questions," ICE stated.

The Mexican government has requested more details about Perez-Jimenez's death and called it "unacceptable." The foreign ministry said on Thursday: "The Government of Mexico reiterates that these deaths are unacceptable and once again calls on immigration authorities to carry out a prompt and thorough investigation to clarify the circumstances that led to this death, determine responsibility, and establish effective guarantees of non-repetition."

Detention Watch Network, a group opposing immigrant detention, reports that there have been more than 42 migrant deaths in custody since Trump returned to office in January 2025. Immigration raids have also led to multiple deaths of migrants, as well as two US citizens who were shot by agents in Minnesota. Under Joe Biden, the president who preceded Trump, only 24 deaths were reported in ICE custody during his entire four-year term, according to ICE statistics, highlighting a sharp increase in fatalities under the current regime's policies.

Source: www.bbc.com