Denny Adán González, a 33-year-old Cuban national, passed away last Tuesday at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as confirmed by the agency on Friday.
The suspected cause of death is suicide, though the official cause is still under investigation.
Staff from CoreCivic, the private corporation managing the facility, discovered González unresponsive in his cell at 10:25 p.m. on Tuesday. A cutting tool was used to access him, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was immediately administered. The Webster County Emergency Medical Services continued the resuscitation efforts, but González was pronounced dead at 11:11 p.m.
González first entered the United States in May 2019 through the Hidalgo, Texas, port of entry, where he was detained by Customs and Border Protection and deemed inadmissible.
An immigration judge ordered his deportation to Cuba in December 2019, leading to his removal in January 2020. However, he re-entered the country unlawfully and was apprehended by the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, in April 2022.
He was released under an order of supervision and reported to ICE in Charlotte, North Carolina, until September 2025.
Arrest and Detention Timeline
On December 12, 2025, González was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office in Charlotte on charges of assaulting a woman and domestic violence. ICE filed an immigration detainer and transferred him to the Stewart Center in January 2026.
According to reports from The Guardian cited by Telemundo, González is the fourth individual to die by suicide at the Stewart Detention Center, a facility with a documented history of at least 13 deaths since 2006.
With his death, the number of individuals who have died in ICE custody in 2026 has reached 18.
Alarming Trends in ICE Detention Centers
González is the third Cuban to die under ICE custody this year. Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died on January 3 at Fort Bliss, Texas, in a case that an autopsy ruled as homicide by asphyxiation, contradicting ICE's initial account. Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, died on April 12 at the Miami Federal Detention Center in an apparent suicide.
The situation is concerning: a study published in the medical journal JAMA revealed that the mortality rate in ICE detention centers reached 88.9 deaths per 100,000 detainees in fiscal year 2026, the highest level in 22 years, even surpassing the peak recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drs. Michele Heisler and Katherine R. Peeler, authors of an editorial accompanying the study, pointed out that the findings "suggest not just isolated failures but systemic weaknesses in medical care, mental health protection, and mortality review in a population entirely reliant on the state."
The total population under ICE custody increased from 40,000 to 60,000 people since Trump took office, while detentions of Cubans surged by 463% between October 2024 and the end of 2025, according to the Cato Institute.
The researchers warned that the rise in deaths "makes it difficult to consider the recent increase as an isolated clinical phenomenon rather than a warning sign of a detention system under extraordinary and deliberate pressure."
Key Factors in ICE Detention Center Deaths
What is the suspected cause of Denny Adán González's death?
The suspected cause of death is suicide, though the official cause is still under investigation.
How many deaths have occurred in ICE custody in 2026?
As of now, 18 individuals have died while in ICE custody in 2026.
What did the JAMA study reveal about the mortality rate in ICE facilities?
The study revealed that the mortality rate in ICE detention centers reached 88.9 deaths per 100,000 detainees in fiscal year 2026, marking the highest level in 22 years.