Mexican Migrant Dies in Florida Jail, Raising ICE Detention Concerns
MIAMI — A 19-year-old Mexican migrant, Royer Perez-Jimenez, died Monday at the Glades County Detention Center in Florida, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE stated Perez-Jimenez “died of presumed suicide,” but an official cause of death remains under investigation.
Perez-Jimenez’s death marks the 46th reported death of a person in ICE custody since the beginning of the Trump administration in January 2025, according to a count by the Associated Press. It is the second death in ICE custody this week; an Afghan immigrant who had been evacuated from Afghanistan after working with U.S. Forces died in a Texas hospital after being detained by immigration authorities. Thirteen immigrants have died in ICE custody since the start of this year, and Perez-Jimenez is the youngest to die in custody since the beginning of President Trump’s second term.
The Glades County Detention Center, where Perez-Jimenez was held, had been previously shut down by the Biden administration before being reopened under the Trump administration. ICE reported that officers found Perez-Jimenez “unconscious and unresponsive” at 2:34 a.m. Monday. Staff immediately initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and emergency medical personnel arrived shortly after, but were unable to revive him. He was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m., seventeen minutes after being discovered.
Perez-Jimenez was arrested on January 22 by Volusia County sheriff’s officers and initially charged with a felony for impersonation and resisting an officer, according to ICE. He was transferred to ICE custody a month later. However, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office informed the Associated Press that a search of its system did not yield any record of Perez-Jimenez’s arrest.
The Mexican government issued a statement Thursday calling for a “prompt and thorough” U.S. Investigation into Perez-Jimenez’s death, deeming such deaths in immigration detention “unacceptable.” Officials from the Mexican Consulate in Miami visited the detention facility and requested documentation related to the case.
The death has drawn condemnation from immigrant advocacy groups. Carly Pérez Fernández, communications director at Detention Watch Network, stated, “The immigration detention system deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones, and subjects people to abysmal conditions.”
Florida is considered a state closely aligned with the Trump administration’s immigration policies and houses several prominent detention centers, including the South Florida Detention Facility and the Krome North Service Processing Center. Detainees at these facilities have previously reported issues such as unsanitary conditions, including finding worms in food and malfunctioning sanitation systems.
The Office of The District 21 Medical Examiner has not responded to a request from the Associated Press for the autopsy report. The Florida prosecutor’s office has referred all information requests to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.