Man arrested by ICE in Minneapolis dies while in federal custody

A 36-year-old man who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis died while in federal custody in Texas on Wednesday, according to the agency.

Security personnel found Víctor Manuel Díaz unconscious and unresponsive in his room in Eastern Montana Campground in El Paso, according to ICE.

El Paso Emergency Medical Services was notified at 3:35 p.m. local time and was on the scene attempting life-saving measures 10 minutes later, the federal agency said. Díaz died at 4:09 p.m.

“He died from a suspected suicide,” ICE said in a statement. “However, the official cause of his death remains under investigation.”

Díaz was arrested by federal agents on January 6. According to federal officials, he was a Nicaraguan citizen who entered the United States illegally from Mexico on March 26, 2024. He was found by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents that same day.

“After processing, he was served with a notice to appear before an immigration judge and placed on probation pending his court date,” the federal agency said.

According to federal officials, an immigration judge ordered Diaz removed from the country last August.

The federal agency says it provides “comprehensive health care” to people in custody at its detention centers, including “medical, dental and mental health screenings within the first 12 hours” of their arrival.

Camp East Montana is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country. Charlotte Weiss, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, says detainees there face three forms of inhumane conditions.

“The first is excessive use of force, which is used by guards against individuals,” Weiss said. “The second is negligent medical care.”

He said the third problem is spoiled food.

ICE has denied the claims and said it is “committed to ensuring that all detainees reside in safe and humane environments.”

The government awarded Acquisition Logistics a $1.24 billion contract to build and operate the detention center. The company has no history of running a detention center before this one.

The Department of Homeland Security on Friday also confirmed the death of a Mexican citizen in a detention center in Georgia. Heber Sánchez Dominguez, 34, had been in ICE custody for six days and was awaiting a hearing when he was discovered “hanging by the neck and unconscious in his bedroom,” according to DHS.

Herber was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. Federal officials said the cause of his death is under investigation.

ICE said Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died while in custody at Camp East Montana on Jan. 3. Sources told the Washington Post that the Texas medical examiner is likely to classify his death as a possible homicide by asphyxiation.

According to DHS data, at least 15 people died while in ICE custody last year.

As of Thursday, ICE was housing about 73,000 people facing deportation in their custody across the United States, the highest level on record by the agency and an 84% increase from the same time in 2025, when its detained population was just under 40,000, according to internal Department of Homeland Security data obtained by News themezone.

The Trump administration has said it is working to detain more than 100,000 immigration detainees at any given time, as part of his government’s effort to carry out an offensive against deportations of unprecedented proportions.