Deaths in ICE Custody Spark Lawmaker Concerns Over Medical Care
Recent deaths at the Adelanto Immigration Processing Center in California have prompted a group of lawmakers to demand accountability from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The concerns center on the quality of medical care provided to detainees and whether current standards are adequate given increased detention rates.
One case involves Carlos Ayala-Uribe, whose request for continued protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was not renewed in 2016, according to previous reporting by the Los Angeles Times. Ayala-Uribe died at Victor valley Global Medical Center in Victorville while awaiting surgery for an abscess on his buttock.ICE officials have acknowledged his death,but the suspected cause of the sore has not been disclosed. Internal emails obtained by The Times suggest Adelanto detention staff were aware of Ayala-Uribe’s medical crisis,yet he waited three days in his dorm room before being transferred to the hospital. His cause of death is currently under inquiry.
A second detainee,Gabriel Garcia-Aviles,56,died on October 23rd,approximately a week after being taken into custody. ICE reported Garcia-Aviles, a Costa Mesa resident, was arrested on October 14th in Santa Ana by the U.S. Border Patrol due to an outstanding warrant and subsequently sent to Adelanto. ICE stated he was only at the facility for a few hours before being transported to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for “suspected alcohol withdrawal symptoms.” His condition deteriorated rapidly.
The deaths have intensified scrutiny of medical practices at Adelanto, one of the largest federal immigration detention centers in California. Lawmakers are questioning whether immigration detention centers nationwide are adequately prepared to handle the increased number of detainees resulting from President Trump’s prioritization of mass deportations.
in a letter addressed to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons, Representatives Judy min and Young Kim, along with 43 other lawmakers including Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), J. Luis Correa (D-Santa Ana), John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), and Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), expressed deep concern. They wrote that the deaths “raise serious questions about ICE’s ability to comply with basic detention standards, medical care protocols, and notification requirements, and underscore a pattern of gross negligence that demands immediate accountability.”
Family members of Garcia-Aviles reported they were not informed of his worsening condition until he was on his deathbed.Upon arriving at the hospital, they found him “unconscious, intubated, and…[with] dried blood on his forehead” and also “a cut on his tongue…broken teeth and bruising on his body,” according to his daughter’s account on a GoFundMe page created to help cover funeral expenses. She stated the family received no explanation for his transfer to the hospital.
The lawmakers emphasized the need for humane treatment of immigrants in detention. ICE did not promptly respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
