Ismael Ayala-Uribe dies at Adelanto ICE facility after medical staff repeatedly failed him
May 27, 2026·Location: Adelanto, CA

A Project on Government Oversight investigation found ICE detention facilities are receiving increasingly high 'superior' inspection ratings even as complaints about poor conditions, untrained staff, and medical neglect persist, with violations dropping 68% between 2022 and 2025 while detention deaths rose to their highest level since 2004. Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old former DACA recipient, died on September 22, 2025, from complications of a pelvic abscess after nearly a month in Adelanto custody; an internal ICE mortality review found medical staff failed to properly evaluate him, relay information between providers, respond to his complaints, give him all his medications, or document his care. A Harvard Medical School professor who reviewed the report called his death 'very preventable.' At least five people have died after being detained at Adelanto under the current administration, four linked to substandard medical care, according to the California Attorney General's office, making it the facility with the most deaths nationwide since August 2025.
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