Man arrested by ICE in Minneapolis dies while under federal agency's custody in Texas
A 36-year-old man who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis died while in federal custody in Texas on Wednesday, according to the agency.
Security personnel found Victor Manuel Diaz unconscious and unresponsive in his room at Camp East Montana in El Paso, according to ICE.
El Paso Emergency Medical Services were notified at 3:35 p.m. local time and were at the site attempting life-saving measures 10 minutes later, the federal agency said. Diaz died at 4:09 p.m.
"He died of a presumed suicide," ICE said in a statement. "However, the official cause of his death remains under investigation."
Diaz was arrested by federal officers on Jan. 6. According to federal officials, he was a Nicaraguan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico on March 26, 2024. He was encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents that same day.
"After processing, he was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge and released on parole pending his court date," the federal agency said.
According to federal officials, an immigration judge ordered Diaz be removed from the country last August.
The federal agency says it provides "comprehensive medical care" to people in custody at its detention facilities, including "medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within the first 12 hours" of their arrival.
Camp East Montana is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country. Charlotte Weiss, the attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, says detainees there are facing three forms of inhumane conditions.
"The first is the excessive use of force, which is for individuals that's being used against them by the guards," Weiss said. "The second is negligent medical care."
She said the third problem is spoiled food.
ICE has denied the claims, saying it's "committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments."
The government awarded Acquisition Logistics a $1.24 billion contract to build and operate the detention center. The company has no record of running a detention facility before this one.
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday also confirmed the death of a Mexican citizen in a detention facility in Georgia. Heber Sanchez Domínguez, 34, had been in ICE custody for six days and was awaiting a hearing when he was discovered "hanging by the neck and unresponsive in his sleeping quarters," according to DHS.
Herber was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. Federal officials said the cause of his death is under investigation.
ICE said 55-year-old Geraldo Lunas Campos died while in custody at Camp East Montana on Jan. 3. Sources told the Washington Post that the medical examiner in Texas is likely to classify his death as a possible homicide due to asphyxia.
According to DHS data, at least 15 people died while in ICE custody last year.
As of Thursday, ICE was holding about 73,000 individuals facing deportation in its custody across the U.S., the highest level recorded by the agency and an 84% increase from the same time in 2025, when its detention population was just below 40,000, according to internal Department of Homeland Security data obtained by CBS News.
The Trump administration has said it's working to be able to detain upwards of 100,000 immigration detainees at any given time, as part of its government-wide effort to carry out a deportation crackdown of unprecedented proportions.