Heber Sánchez died while in ICE custody at Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Clayton County, Georgia. The cause of death is unclear and an autopsy is being performed by the Clayton County Medical Examiner's Office. The Mexican Consulate has requested clarification on the circumstances and is coordinating to return Sánchez's body to Mexico. He is survived by a wife and two children.
Heber Sánchez Domínguez, 34, a day laborer from Las Choapas, Veracruz, Mexico, who had been living in the United States for two years, was arrested on January 7, 2026, in Richmond County, Georgia, for driving without a license following a traffic accident. He was transferred to the Robert A. Deyton Detention Center in Madison County on January 11. On January 14 at 2 a.m., after six days in custody, guards found him unconscious and hanging by his neck in his cell. Medical personnel attempted resuscitation and transferred him to a hospital, where he was declared dead one hour later. His cellmate reported he had complained of feeling sick before his death. His family stated he was not allowed to contact them after his arrest and expressed distress at this lack of communication. His brother Feliciano stated, "We want justice because they should have given him medical attention." His 102-year-old mother, Catalina Sánchez Domínguez, expressed her pain at learning her son died in U.S. police custody. His family disputes official accounts and has called for a thorough investigation into why he did not receive medical care. Mexico's consulate in Atlanta and the Mexican Foreign Ministry requested a prompt and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Alma Bowman, a 59-year-old Macon resident, was detained by ICE on March 26, 2025, during a routine check-in and held at Stewart Detention Center for 243 days until her release in late November 2025. Bowman claims U.S. citizenship as the daughter of an American Navy serviceman and was born in the Philippines. ICE asserted she was in the country illegally. This was her second detention; she had previously been held for three years (2017-2020) at Irwin County Detention Center following criminal convictions deemed deportable offenses. During her detention, Bowman reported inadequate medical care and overcrowded conditions. Her attorney argued the prolonged detainment violated her constitutional rights, and her citizenship status remained legally disputed throughout her custody.
In September 2025, federal agents from ICE, Border Patrol, FBI, DEA, IRS, and ATF conducted the largest single-site DHS enforcement operation in history at a Hyundai-LG joint venture battery manufacturing facility near Savannah, Georgia, detaining approximately 450-475 workers. Approximately 300 of those arrested were South Korean nationals; roughly 250 worked for HL-GA Battery Company LLC and about 50 for LG Energy Solutions. ICE alleged many had overstayed visa waiver permits (ESTAs) or held B-1 business visas that did not permit manual labor, though at least one worker with valid documentation was arrested. South Korea's president and foreign minister expressed concern and launched an investigation into whether detained workers were read their rights and reported inappropriate conduct by ICE agents. By November 2025, some workers had been released and returned to their jobs, with HL-GA Battery Co. resuming construction using a mix of new and returning workers, and the facility's opening delayed by two to three months.
Two months after an immigration raid detained 300 South Korean nationals at Hyundai's electric vehicle manufacturing site in Georgia, some workers have returned to resume their jobs. The September raid resulted in the detention of 475 workers, mostly South Korean nationals who had entered the U.S. with expired visas or visa waivers that prohibited employment. The raid halted construction on a battery plant at the facility near Savannah.
Chong Leng Vue, 45, a Hmong man who has lived in the United States for 44 years since arriving as an infant, was detained by ICE on October 16 at an immigration office in Atlanta after appearing for a routine appointment in response to a mailed notice. Vue was born stateless in a Thai refugee camp after his family fled persecution in Laos during the Secret War; he has no ties outside the U.S. and is the sole provider for his family of seven, all U.S. citizens. DHS cited his 2004 removal order related to prior assault and firearm convictions. Vue is currently held at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where his wife reports cold conditions, limited access to showers and hygiene supplies, and difficulty communicating with family and attorneys. His wife said the detention has forced the family to withdraw their children from extracurricular activities and left them struggling financially.
Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran journalist, was arrested on June 14, 2025, while live-streaming a "No Kings" protest in the Atlanta area. He was transferred to ICE detention shortly after his arrest. During his detention, a Georgia immigration judge ordered his release on bond in July, and the ACLU filed legal challenges to his case. On September 19, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals closed his case and ordered his removal. Guevara was deported to El Salvador on October 3, 2025, after spending over three months in ICE custody.
Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara was arrested by police on June 14, 2025, while covering a protest in DeKalb County, Georgia, and charged with obstructing police, unlawful assembly, and improperly entering a roadway. After a judge granted him bond, ICE placed a 48-hour hold on him despite his work authorization and pending green card application. Guevara spent 110 days in ICE custody, including 22 hours daily in solitary confinement, before being deported to El Salvador. A federal judge questioned the legality of his detention. His attorneys argued it violated his constitutional rights to free speech and due process. The government claimed broad discretion to detain him as a deportable immigrant. Guevara stated he was targeted for his journalistic work documenting immigration raids rather than for any criminal activity.
Alma Bella Bowman, a Georgia resident and immigrants' rights activist, was released from Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, after ICE agreed to her release following eight months in custody. Bowman was detained on March 26, 2025, during a routine check-in at the ICE Atlanta Field Office and continues to press the U.S. government to recognize her as a citizen based on her father's Navy service. She previously exposed non-consensual gynecological procedures at Irwin County Detention Center from 2017 to 2020.
Juana McIntosh, a Guatemalan national and spouse of a U.S. Air Force member, was detained by ICE during a green card interview appointment at a USCIS office in Atlanta while her husband was deployed overseas. She had been granted Parole in Place as a military spouse and was in the process of adjusting her status when she was taken into custody based on a previous removal order from 2012.
Eduardo Guzman Garcia was pulled over in Henry County for a broken brake light on July 9, 2025, and subsequently taken to jail for driving without a license. The Henry County Sheriff's Office notified DHS after discovering an immigration detainer on him, and ICE agents arrested him at the jail. He has been held in an ICE facility in Atlanta since July 12, 2025, while his family continues working on his green card application.
A Spanish-language journalist known for documenting immigration raids was detained by ICE after being arrested by police during a weekend protest outside Atlanta. The journalist faces charges of obstructing officers and unlawful assembly while covering the protest and could face deportation proceedings.
On June 11, 2025, ICE agents coordinated with Chatham County police to conduct traffic stops targeting immigrant workers near a mobile home park outside Savannah. Eight immigrant laborers were apprehended during two traffic stops. Body camera footage reveals ICE agents proposing ongoing collaboration with local police, with one agent offering to respond to future stops.
A 21-year-old Colombian woman who was eight months pregnant was deported from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport. She had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in November seeking asylum but was subject to expedited removal. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to stop the deportation, but the order came approximately three hours after the flight had departed.
Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a 19-year-old Dalton State Community College student, was arrested on May 5 after a traffic stop for an improper turn on red and driving without a license. Police dashcam footage later revealed the officer had stopped the wrong vehicle—a black pickup truck committed the violation, not Arias-Cristobal's dark gray truck. Though local charges were dropped, she remains in ICE custody at Stewart Detention Center facing deportation proceedings.
Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, a 68-year-old construction worker who had lived in the United States for 40 years, died on May 5, 2025, while being transported from Lowndes County Jail to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. The coroner suspected an aortic aneurysm as the cause of death, though the exact cause remained under investigation. According to his family, Delgado had no prior health conditions but was placed in a wheelchair during his detention and given medications he had never taken before. He had been detained multiple times since 1979 as an undocumented immigrant.
Jessica Flores Marin, 44, a mother of three who has lived in the United States for 22 years, was detained by ICE on April 13 near her family's home in Georgia. She was taken into custody while an ongoing T visa application was being processed. Her detention came after an immigration judge denied her motion to reopen a decades-old deportation order from 2004.
ICE agents arrested Wilson Rogelio Velasquez Cruz outside Iglesia Fuente de Vida church in Tucker on Sunday while he was attending service with his family. Velasquez Cruz, who had a valid five-year work permit and was employed at a tire shop, had been wearing an immigration GPS ankle monitor since seeking asylum from Honduras two years ago. His wife expressed concern about the family's future and reported that her husband will be transferred to Stewart Detention Center and deported without the ability to appeal to a judge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pulled over a father traveling with his children in Douglasville, Georgia. Officers instructed the father to contact his wife, and the family initially believed he was the target of enforcement action. However, when the wife arrived at the scene, authorities detained her instead.
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