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Two immigrant detainees died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on Monday in separate facilities in Florida and Indiana, according to federal statements released days later. Authorities said both men were found unresponsive and that the causes of death remain under investigation.
Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, a 27-year-old Guatemalan national, died on at 2:01 a.m on Monday at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami after collapsing and becoming unresponsive, ICE said in a statement released on Friday. Officials added he had "a long history of severe medical complications" and was immunocompromised when hospitalized for fever earlier this year.
ICE added through its statement that Garcia-Hernandez had been arrested in New York in 2023 on charges including weapons possession and impersonating an officer. He was convicted in 2024 of two weapons counts and sentenced to time served. In January 2025, police encountered him again and contacted federal authorities, who transferred him into immigration custody.
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Hours after Garcia-Hernandez's death, staff at Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana found Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old Cambodian national, unresponsive in his cell. He was pronounced dead at 7:10 a.m. despite lifesaving efforts by staff and emergency responders, according to an ICE statement published on Wednesday. His cause of death is also under investigation.
Sim entered the United States as a refugee in 1983 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1986. ICE said he had prior convictions including disorderly conduct, indecent exposure and larceny, and had been ordered removed from the United States in 2006. He was detained again in December 2025 and transferred into ICE custody in January 2026.
ICE said it notified oversight offices and the Cambodian consulate as required and stated that it is "committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments," adding that detainees receive medical screenings within 12 hours of arrival and access to 24-hour emergency care.
The deaths follow multiple fatalities in ICE custody earlier this year. Government data show four detainees died between Janiuary 3 and 9, following at least 30 deaths in ICE detention last year, the highest annual total in two decades.
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Tags: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Florida, Indiana, Guatemala