A 39-year-old Mexican man died in California while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reported Tuesday, September 23, the agency, which faces a lawsuit for the lack of adequate medical care provided to detainees, among other complaints.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe died Monday, Sept. 22, at Victor Valley Global Medical Center in Victorville, northeast of Los Angeles, ICE said in a statement.
Mexican dies in ICE custody
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, a citizen of Mexico, was at hospital for evaluation of an abscess on his buttock when he presented abnormal tachycardia (high heart rate) and was ultimately declared deceased at 2:32 a.m. yesterday, Sept. 22, in California.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe was an… pic.twitter.com/ok8nI6Kh4X
– Eva Knott (@EvaKnott) September 23, 2025
The immigrant was being held at the ICE processing center in Adelanto, California.
On September 21, he was transferred to the medical facility for “further evaluation” of an abscess in his buttock, after which he was scheduled for surgery to treat it.
In the early morning of September 22, Ayala-Uribe was found unconscious and was pronounced dead.
The causes of death have not yet been disclosed, but are under investigation.
ICE said Ayala also presented hypertension and abnormal tachycardia.
ICE is facing several prosecutions for the lack of necessary medical care provided to detainees.
The ICE Processing Center in Adelanto was virtually vacated following a federal judge’s order to release immigrants due to the unsanitary conditions they were subjected to during the covid-19 pandemic.
Ayala was arrested on August 17 in Orange County and transferred to Adelanto on August 22 for immigration processing.
Ayala’s death follows that of 42-year-old Honduran national Santos Reyes Banegas, who died at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, east of New York City, of suspected liver failure.
Reyes Banegas died on September 18 just 18 hours after arriving at the detention center, where “by protocol he underwent a medical examination” that declared him admissible the day before, the government agency said.
The Mexican and Honduran deaths are in addition to the 16 migrant deaths already officially recognized by ICE so far in fiscal year 2025, which began in October 2024, surpassing the 12 recorded during the entire previous fiscal year.
Filed under: Mexican Dies in ICE Custody in California
With information from EFE
