19-Year-Old Mexican Immigrant Dies in Florida ICE Detention Facility

A 19-year-old Mexican immigrant died Monday at a Florida county jail housing ICE detainees, marking the 46th death in immigration custody since Trump took office in January. Officials say Royer Perez-Jimenez died of presumed suicide, though the official cause remains under investigation.

A 19-year-old Mexican immigrant has died while in immigration custody at a Florida county jail, federal authorities announced.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say Royer Perez-Jimenez died from what they believe was suicide, though investigators are still working to determine the official cause of death.

The young man’s death on Monday marks the 46th fatality in ICE custody since President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025, based on Associated Press tracking. This makes Perez-Jimenez the youngest detainee to die in immigration custody during Trump’s current administration.

His death represents the second ICE custody fatality this week, following the death of an Afghan immigrant in Texas who had previously assisted U.S. military forces in his home country. Since 2026 began, 13 immigrants have died while in ICE detention.

Immigration advocacy groups have strongly criticized the detention system following the death. “Immigration detention system deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones, and subjects people to abysmal conditions,” stated Carly Pérez Fernández, who serves as communications director for Detention Watch Network, a national organization opposing immigrant detention.

ICE reports that correctional officers discovered Perez-Jimenez unconscious and unresponsive at 2:34 a.m. Monday morning at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven. This facility, located approximately 55 miles northeast of Fort Myers, had been closed during President Joe Biden’s administration but was reopened under Trump.

Staff members immediately declared a medical emergency in the dormitory and began CPR efforts, according to ICE. Medical personnel arrived within minutes and confirmed the absence of a pulse before fire rescue deputies took over with life-saving measures. Officials pronounced Perez-Jimenez dead at 2:51 a.m., just 17 minutes after his discovery.

Records show that Volusia County sheriff’s deputies arrested the Mexican teenager on January 22, charging him with felony impersonation and resisting an officer. He was transferred to immigration custody one month later. However, when the Associated Press requested arrest records from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office using the name and date provided by ICE, officials responded that no such person appears in their system.

The District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office has not responded to requests for the autopsy report. Florida prosecutors have directed all inquiries to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. attorney general’s office.

Florida maintains strong alignment with Trump administration immigration policies and operates several prominent immigrant detention facilities, including the South Florida Detention Facility, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and the Krome North Service Processing Center. Detainees at these facilities have reported discovering worms in meals, broken toilets, and sewage overflow problems.

Extended detention periods have become increasingly common during Trump’s current presidency, largely due to new policies that generally prevent immigration judges from releasing detainees while their deportation cases move through backlogged court systems.