A 19-year-old Mexican national has died while in federal immigration custody at a detention facility in Florida, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
Royer Perez-Jimenez died at the Glades County Detention Facility on March 18 “after being found unresponsive in his cell,” according to an ICE press release.
The agency said the teen was pronounced dead at the scene, and officials indicated the death is being treated as “presumed suicide.”
Why It Matters
Perez-Jimenez is at least the 13th person to die in ICE custody in 2026, according to a Newsweek review of detainee death notifications. The deaths have renewed concerns over medical care and oversight in ICE detention facilities. The number of deaths in ICE detention has risen in recent years, with seven reported in 2023, 11 in 2024, and 32 in 2025.
The number of people held in ICE detention has also climbed to historically high levels. Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reports that the agency is holding around 70,000 individuals in custody as of mid-January 2026, compared with about 32,743 in late August 2023 and roughly 37,782 on January 13, 2024.
What To Know
Perez‑Jimenez was arrested by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on January 22, 2026 and charged with felony fraud for impersonation and misdemeanor resisting an officer, ICE said.
The agency said it placed an immigration detainer on him that same day, and he was transferred into ICE custody on February 21.
He was subsequently moved to the Glades County Detention Center on February 26, ICE said. At intake, medical staff evaluated Perez‑Jimenez, and he denied any behavioral health issues or concerns, answering “no” to all suicide screening questions, the agency’s release says.
ICE said Perez‑Jimenez initially entered the United States on February 19, 2022. He was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol and granted a voluntary return to Mexico on the same day, the agency said. On an unspecified later date, he illegally reentered the United States, according to ICE.
A report published in January by advocacy organizations, including the ACLU of Florida and the Detention Watch Network, documented concerning conditions at the Glades County Detention Center over the period from 2008 to 2022.
What People Are Saying
Carly Perez Fernandez, Communications Director of Detention Watch Network, said in a statement shared with Newsweek: “Deaths in ICE custody continue to skyrocket past previous record highs amidst the Trump administration’s massive expansion of immigration detention and increasing ICE violence. ICE’s immigration detention system deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones, and subjects people to abysmal conditions, including inadequate medical care and mental health services, inedible food, and racist abuse. Under the Trump administration’s massive expansion of the detention system, loss of life in ICE custody has been truly staggering.”
ICE said in a press release: “All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility; access to medical appointments; and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained alien denied emergency care.”
What Happens Next
ICE officials said the official cause of Perez‑Jimenez’s death remains under investigation.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org
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