Man with brain tumor denied seizure medication for hours in ICE detention
Jan 19, 2026·Location: California City, CA
Country of origin: Mexico

D.E., a 44-year-old Mexican national who has lived with a brain tumor for 12 years, was arrested by ICE without a warrant just blocks from his home in Long Branch, New Jersey, days before he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy. While detained at the California City Detention Center, a CoreCivic-run facility, he was repeatedly denied his twice-daily seizure medication, Keppra, and suffered several seizures, including one during which he wedged his arm against his bed frame to keep from falling into a nearby toilet during a convulsion. He filed medical grievances, including a request for a radiation and chemotherapy specialist, but received no written response. His case is cited in a broader investigation finding that the ICE detention grievance system has collapsed after the Trump administration cut oversight offices, including the Office of Detention Oversight, the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Sources
- The system meant to protect ICE detainees has collapsed
NPR·Aug 20, 2026·archived copy
WFAE·Aug 20, 2026·archived copy
ypradio.org·Aug 20, 2026·archived copy
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