US immigration authorities have announced the death of another migrant at a processing center in California, raising concerns about the escalating death toll of immigrants in government custody amid President Donald Trump's crackdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on Monday that Mexican immigrant Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano was found unresponsive at the facility last week and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Ramos-Solano is one of approximately 14 detainees, including several Mexican immigrants, to die in ICE custody this year. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed concern about the trend on Monday. According to the Reuters news agency, she told reporters: "We're now going to take further action. We're going to take several steps to protest the death of yet another Mexican national in the United States." ICE stated that Ramos-Solano, taken into custody last month, suffered from several medical conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.
The agency claimed he received constant medical care while detained, including daily medication to treat his illnesses. However, rights advocates have raised serious questions about the medical care provided to immigrants at ICE facilities as the death toll continues to climb. At least 32 people died in ICE custody last year, compared to 11 in 2024, the year before Trump took office.
Earlier this month, 41-year-old Afghan asylum seeker Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal also died at an immigration facility. ICE said the agency transported him to a hospital in Texas after he complained "of shortness of breath and chest pains." The agency also reported that 19-year-old Mexican immigrant Royer Perez-Jimenez died of "presumed suicide" at a detention center in Florida on March 16.
ICE often attempts to portray immigrants who die in its facilities as hardened criminals. Yet, some detainees had no criminal history or only minor offenses committed years ago. For instance, Jimenez was only charged – not convicted – of "misdemeanor fraud for impersonation and resisting an officer." Some fatalities have also spurred calls for independent investigations.
When Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos died in January, ICE initially stated he had experienced "medical distress." However, a medical examiner later ruled Campos's death a homicide – meaning caused by another person, prompting authorities to alter their version of events. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, claimed that Campos was trying to take his own life. "Campos violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life. During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness," DHS said in a statement on January 16.
Since returning to the White House for his second presidential term in January 2025, Trump has launched a nationwide campaign to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. This crackdown has also targeted immigrants legally in the US, including permanent residents, for engaging in activism against Israel's genocidal war in Gaza. Federal agents killed two people in Minnesota in January during a weeks-long immigration enforcement operation that sparked protests and outrage across the country.
Source: www.aljazeera.com