ICE In‑Custody Deaths Hit Two‑Decade High After Presumed‑Suicide Death of 19‑Year‑Old Mexican Detainee at Reopened Florida Jail, as Mexico’s President Demands Full Investigation
Nineteen‑year‑old Mexican migrant Royer Perez‑Jimenez was found unresponsive March 16 at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida — a jail that had been closed under the Biden administration and later reopened to hold immigration detainees — and ICE has classified his death as a presumed suicide pending investigation. His death comes amid a surge in migrant fatalities in U.S. detention, the highest in roughly two decades with at least a dozen in‑custody deaths this year, prompting Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum to demand a full investigation and vow use of legal and diplomatic tools to protect Mexican nationals.
📌 Key Facts
- Federal and ICE data show deaths in ICE custody are at their highest level in roughly 20 years: at least 30 migrants died in U.S. detention centers last year (the highest since 2004), and ICE says the Florida death was the 13th death in ICE detention so far this year.
- The deceased is 19‑year‑old Mexican migrant Royer Perez‑Jimenez, who was found unconscious and unresponsive in his Glades County Detention Center (Moore Haven, Florida) cell at 2:34 a.m.; facility staff began CPR and he was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m.; ICE has classified the death as a 'presumed suicide' while the official cause remains under investigation.
- ICE says Perez‑Jimenez was arrested Jan. 22 in Volusia County on fraud/impersonation and resisting‑an‑officer charges, was transferred to ICE custody on Feb. 21 and moved to Glades County Detention Center on Feb. 26; ICE also says he denied behavioral‑health issues and answered 'no' to all suicide‑screening questions at intake — but the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office told the AP it had no record of him under that name and date.
- Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, condemned the deaths of Mexican nationals in U.S. custody, called the trend 'unacceptable' and said 'This can't be happening,' demanded a full investigation into Perez‑Jimenez’s death, said Mexican consular officials visited the facility and requested documentation, and vowed to use available legal and diplomatic tools to defend Mexicans abroad.
- Perez‑Jimenez’s death was the fourth ICE detention death in March and, according to MS NOW, made him the youngest detainee to die in ICE custody during President Trump’s second term; other recent in‑custody deaths this month include Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi (Iranian, March 1, Mississippi), Emmanuel Cleeford Damas (Haitian, March 2, Arizona), and Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal (Afghan, March 14, Texas).
- MS NOW’s review reports 44 deaths in ICE detention since January 2025 (31 in calendar year 2025), a toll higher than the previous four years combined, and notes prior contested cases such as Geraldo Lunas Campos, whose death the El Paso County medical examiner ruled a homicide after ICE had characterized it as a suicide attempt.
- Advocacy groups, including Detention Watch Network, condemned immigration detention as depriving people of freedom, isolating them from loved ones and subjecting them to 'abysmal conditions,' and called for accountability amid the rising number of in‑custody deaths.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2025, individuals from Latin American countries accounted for 20 out of 31 deaths in ICE custody, representing approximately 64.5% of total deaths.
List of deaths in ICE detention — Wikipedia
Latinos accounted for nine out of ten ICE arrests during the first six months of the Trump administration's second term.
UCLA Report Finds Latino Arrests by ICE Have Skyrocketed Under the Trump Administration’s Second Term — UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the national origins quota system, leading to a significant increase in immigration from Latin America by replacing discriminatory quotas with a preference system that facilitated family reunification and chain migration.
explaining the post-1965 surge from Latin America — PubMed - NIH
📰 Source Timeline (5)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
March 20, 2026
5:00 PM
Mexican president says citizen deaths in U.S. custody "can't be happening"
New information:
- Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly condemned the deaths of three Mexican nationals in U.S. immigration custody in 2026, saying "This can't be happening" and demanding a "full investigation" into the 19‑year‑old’s presumed suicide.
- The Mexican government said these deaths are "becoming unacceptable" and vowed it "won't hold back" from using "available legal and diplomatic tools" to defend Mexicans abroad.
- The article names two additional Mexican nationals who died in ICE custody this year: 34‑year‑old Heber Sanchez Domínguez, found hanging in a Georgia facility after six days in custody for driving without a license, and a 48‑year‑old Mexican man who died in March.
- The piece reiterates federal data that at least 30 migrants died in U.S. detention centers last year, the highest total since 2004, and at least 12 have died so far this year, including non‑Mexican detainees such as an Afghan evacuee who fought alongside U.S. forces, a Haitian man whose family says an untreated toothache became a fatal infection, and a Cuban immigrant whose death in Texas was ruled a homicide.
- ICE’s description of Royer Perez Jimenez’s Florida death includes new case‑specific details: he was arrested in January on fraud for impersonation and misdemeanor resisting an officer charges, found unresponsive at 2:34 a.m. on March 16 in his Glades County Detention Center cell, with prison staff beginning life‑saving efforts immediately and ICE classifying the cause as a "presumed suicide" pending investigation.
4:27 PM
19-year-old Mexican migrant becomes youngest to die in ICE detention in Trump’s second term
New information:
- Confirms full name of the 19‑year‑old Mexican detainee as Royer Perez‑Jimenez.
- Specifies his prior arrest: Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 22 on felony fraud for impersonation and resisting an officer.
- Clarifies custody timeline: transferred to ICE on Feb. 21 and moved to Glades County Detention Center on Feb. 26.
- Provides ICE’s account of intake screening: Perez‑Jimenez denied behavioral‑health issues and answered "no" to all suicide‑screening questions.
- Restates that he was found unconscious and unresponsive at 2:34 a.m. ET and pronounced dead 17 minutes later.
- Places his death in broader context: fourth ICE detention death this month and youngest detainee to die in ICE custody during Trump’s second term.
- Reiterates that ICE is treating the death as a presumed suicide while the official cause remains under investigation.
- Lists three other 2026 in‑custody deaths by name, nationality, date and location: Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi (Iranian, March 1, Mississippi), Emmanuel Cleeford Damas (Haitian, March 2, Arizona), and Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal (Afghan, March 14, Texas).
- Updates cumulative toll since January 2025: 44 deaths in ICE detention under Trump’s second term, with 31 in calendar year 2025 — more than the previous four years combined, per records reviewed by MS NOW.
- Notes prior case of Geraldo Lunas Campos, whose death El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled a homicide after ICE had characterized it as a suicide attempt.
6:42 AM
A Mexican teen migrant dies in a Florida jail holding ICE detainees
New information:
- Identifies the deceased as 19‑year‑old Mexican migrant Royer Perez‑Jimenez and says ICE reports he 'died of presumed suicide,' with the official cause of death still under investigation.
- Specifies he died at Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, a jail the Biden administration had shut down and the Trump administration later reopened to hold immigration detainees.
- Provides a detailed ICE timeline: Perez‑Jimenez was found 'unconscious and unresponsive' at 2:34 a.m., CPR was begun, he was found to be without a pulse by facility medical staff, and he was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m.
- Reports that Perez‑Jimenez was arrested Jan. 22 in Volusia County for felony impersonation and resisting an officer according to ICE, but that the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office told AP it has no record of him in its system under that name and date.
- Quotes the Mexican government calling immigration detention deaths 'unacceptable' and demanding a prompt and thorough U.S. investigation, and notes consular officials have visited the facility and requested documentation.
- Includes condemnation from advocacy group Detention Watch Network, which says immigration detention 'deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones, and subjects people to abysmal conditions.'
March 19, 2026
11:29 PM
Deaths of people in ICE custody at two-decade high
New information:
- CBS, citing ICE data, reports that deaths in ICE custody are now at their highest level in roughly 20 years.
- ICE confirms that the death of a 19‑year‑old Mexican detainee in Florida on Monday was the 13th death in ICE detention so far this year.
- CBS frames the 2026 death tally as part of a growing trend in detention fatalities, not just isolated incidents.