Dying in ICE custody: Inside one family’s story of heartbreak

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines examines the death of Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old man who died while in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in California, and places his case within a wider rise in deaths in detention during Donald Trump’s second term. The report says Ayala-Uribe was arrested while working at a car wash, then held first in a local jail and later at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in southern California, where his mother visited him weekly.

According to the article, Ayala-Uribe became seriously ill after reporting a fever and a painful sore, and his condition worsened despite treatment that included pain medication and other basic care. A coroner’s report cited complications from an abscess in his pelvic region as the cause of death, while his family and medical experts interviewed by Al Jazeera argued that earlier, more comprehensive care could have prevented the outcome. The story also notes that ICE records and the coroner’s findings differ on parts of the timeline.

The article says Ayala-Uribe was one of 53 people who died in ICE custody during Trump’s first 500 days back in office, and that 2025 was the deadliest year on record for such deaths. Human rights groups cited by Al Jazeera say the mortality rate in detention has risen sharply, even as the administration has denied any spike. The reporting points to broader concerns about overcrowding, delayed emergency treatment, understaffing and inadequate medical care in detention facilities.

More broadly, the case highlights the human toll of immigration enforcement and the scrutiny facing ICE over medical care in custody, especially at the Adelanto facility that has long drawn criticism from advocates.