Human Impact Project

An Ethiopian national died in ICE custody at a Phoenix-area hospital on February 7, 2025. The death occurred during the first 100 days of the Trump administration, one of seven migrant deaths in ICE custody reported during that period. An ACLU investigation found that most ICE custody deaths in recent years could have been prevented with proper treatment.

A 45-year-old Ethiopian man died on January 29, 2025, from complications of untreated HIV while in ICE custody at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. He had been detained for nearly four months after entering the country illegally and was not screened for HIV despite developing severe symptoms. Medical experts stated routine blood tests at initial intake or upon symptom development could have identified HIV through early diagnosis and antiretroviral treatment.

Arlit Maria Martinez-Carrada, a Mexican national, was detained by ICE on January 3 while on her way to work in Wicomico County. Her son Kevin died from cancer just days later on January 5, but an immigration judge initially denied her release, deeming her a flight risk. After a federal judge approved her release on January 26 with a $12,000 bond, Martinez-Carrada returned to Salisbury with an ankle bracelet monitor.

A 46-year-old woman from Mexico was found dead by humanitarian volunteers near the border wall east of Sásabe, Arizona on Monday morning. Her 15-year-old son ran to volunteers for help, saying his mother had stopped breathing while in a vehicle that had been speeding toward the wall from Mexico. A volunteer who examined her found no visible injuries and said she did not appear to have died from exposure, despite overnight lows of 19 degrees in the area. She remains unidentified, though she was carrying documents indicating she was from Mexico, and the cause of death may take weeks to determine.

Genry Ruiz-Guillen, a 29-year-old Honduran man with schizoaffective disorder, was transferred to ICE custody in October 2024 and held at Krome North Service Processing Center. While detained, he experienced seizures, dizziness, fainting spells, confusion, and loss of consciousness. In December he was hospitalized for acute psychosis and subsequently transferred to three Larkin Health System hospitals for psychiatric treatment and treatment of rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening muscle breakdown condition. He died on January 8, 2025. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner ruled his cause of death as "complications of schizoaffective disorder," but medical experts including a former NYC chief medical examiner questioned this finding, noting mental illness alone cannot be a proper cause of death and citing concern about multiple medications in his system and the unresolved rhabdomyolysis.

Victor Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan restaurant worker, died by suicide in January 2025 while in ICE custody at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. Diaz was initially detained by ICE in Minnesota and transferred to the crowded El Paso facility, where he lost contact with relatives. After reporting harassment from fellow detainees, he was placed in isolation, where he subsequently died by suicide.