WASHINGTON, Could 1 (Reuters) – A Cuban immigrant died in U.S. immigration custody in Georgia in what authorities suspect was a suicide, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated in a press launch on Friday.
Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, was discovered unresponsive in his cell on the Stewart Detention Middle on Tuesday and pronounced lifeless lower than an hour later, ICE stated.
President Donald Trump, a Republican, has pushed to detain many extra immigrants as a part of his mass deportation effort. The variety of individuals detained by ICE has grown from 40,000 when Trump took workplace in 2025 to 60,000, with detention poised to develop additional this yr.
Deaths of immigrants in ICE custody reached a two-decade excessive final yr and are on tempo to climb greater this yr, with 18 deaths via the primary 4 months of the yr.
ICE stated that Gonzalez entered the U.S. at a Texas port of entry in Could 2019 however was deemed “inadmissible” and deported in January 2020. He crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in 2022 and was launched into the U.S. with an order of supervision, ICE stated.
Gonzalez was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Workplace in Charlotte, North Carolina, for assault on a feminine and home violence, ICE stated. He was taken into ICE custody and transferred to Stewart Detention Middle in January 2026, ICE stated.
Stewart, positioned within the rural metropolis of Lumpkin, is operated by the personal jail firm CoreCivic.
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Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, stated medical employees arrived promptly and started lifesaving measures as soon as Gonzalez was found unresponsive.
“We’re deeply saddened by and take very critically the passing of any particular person in our care,” Gustin stated.
Immigrant advocates have lengthy criticized Stewart, which was opened in 2006, for its distant location, restrictive setting and alleged substandard medical care.
ICE didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
A large Republican-backed spending package deal handed by Congress in 2025 provides ICE funding to develop detentions via September 2029.
In funds paperwork launched in April, ICE stated it goals to detain a median of 99,000 immigrants in each fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
When you or somebody you recognize wants assist, name or textual content 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for psychological well being help. Moreover, you’ll find native psychological well being and disaster sources at dontcallthepolice.com. Exterior of the U.S., please go to the Worldwide Affiliation for Suicide Prevention.