Man diagnosed with leukemia dies after time in ICE custody at Georgia's Stewart Detention Center, advocates say

A 29-year-old man who had been detained at Georgia's Stewart Detention Center has died after he was denied medical care while in custody, advocates say.

Officials with the Detention Watch Network, an organization advocating the end of immigrant detention in the United States, say Priciliano Trejo had been diagnosed with leukemia and died at a hospital on July 24.

Trejo had been in the country since he was 3 years old, a GoFundMe set up by his family said. In mid-June, Trejo was arrested in North Carolina and transferred to the detention center, which is located in Georgia's Stewart County.

"In the three weeks he was at the ICE detention center, he became increasingly sick. He would call and video call his family daily for emotional support. He expressed high levels of stress, depression, and physical illness during his time there. He shared with his family multiple times that he was feeling unwell, coughing up blood, in pain, and with a bruise that would not heal," Trejo's cousin, Joanny Santiago-Hernandez, wrote on the GoFundMe.

According to the Detention Watch Network and other advocacy groups, Trejo was taken to the hospital on July 13, more than a week after he asked for medical care. Two days later, the groups say that Trejo was in a coma and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement gave custody to his family. 

A CBS News analysis in July found that Stewart Detention Center had last been inspected by federal officials in March 2025. While the privately-run facility was deemed "acceptable/adequate," inspectors did find multiple deficiencies, including two designated "primary components" connected with suicide prevention. Since the inspection, two detainees, including one in April of this year, have died by suicide, the county coroner said.

Lawmakers and advocates have previously brought up concerns about allegedly unsanitary conditions and medical neglect at the facility.

CBS News Atlanta has reached out to ICE for a statement and additional details about Trejo's death and will update this story if they respond.