ICE In‑Custody Deaths Hit Two‑Decade High After Presumed‑Suicide Death of 19‑Year‑Old Mexican Detainee at Reopened Florida Jail
Royer Perez‑Jimenez, a 19‑year‑old Mexican migrant, was found unconscious and unresponsive at 2:34 a.m. at Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida — a jail the Biden administration had shut down and the Trump administration later reopened to hold immigration detainees — and was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m.; ICE is treating the death as a presumed suicide while the official cause remains under investigation. ICE says his death is the 13th in custody this year, and reporting based on ICE data shows deaths in ICE detention are at their highest level in roughly two decades, with Perez‑Jimenez the youngest detainee to die in the administration’s second term.
📌 Key Facts
- ICE data show deaths in ICE custody are at their highest level in roughly 20 years; ICE says the death of the 19‑year‑old detainee was the 13th in detention so far this year.
- The deceased is 19‑year‑old Mexican migrant Royer Perez‑Jimenez; ICE describes his death at Glades County Detention Center (Moore Haven, Florida) as a presumed suicide while the official cause remains under investigation.
- According to ICE, Perez‑Jimenez was found unconscious and unresponsive at 2:34 a.m.; CPR was begun, facility staff found no pulse, and he was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m.
- Reporting says he was arrested Jan. 22 in Volusia County on allegations of felony impersonation and resisting an officer, transferred to ICE custody on Feb. 21 and moved to Glades County Detention Center on Feb. 26; the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office told AP it has no record of him under that name and date.
- ICE intake screening records indicate Perez‑Jimenez denied behavioral‑health issues and answered 'no' to all suicide‑screening questions at intake.
- Glades County Detention Center is a facility the Biden administration had shut down and the Trump administration later reopened to hold immigration detainees.
- MS NOW places his death in context as the fourth ICE detention death in March 2026 and the youngest detainee to die in ICE custody during Trump’s second term; MS NOW also reports 44 deaths in ICE detention since January 2025 (31 in calendar year 2025).
- The Mexican government has called immigration detention deaths 'unacceptable,' requested a prompt U.S. investigation and sent consular officials to the facility; advocacy groups like Detention Watch Network condemned detention conditions, and prior cases (e.g., Geraldo Lunas Campos, later ruled a homicide by a medical examiner) have raised concerns about oversight and cause‑of‑death determinations in ICE custody.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2025, individuals from Latin American countries accounted for 20 out of 31 deaths in ICE custody, representing approximately 64.5% of total deaths.
List of deaths in ICE detention — Wikipedia
Latinos accounted for nine out of ten ICE arrests during the first six months of the Trump administration's second term.
UCLA Report Finds Latino Arrests by ICE Have Skyrocketed Under the Trump Administration’s Second Term — UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the national origins quota system, leading to a significant increase in immigration from Latin America by replacing discriminatory quotas with a preference system that facilitated family reunification and chain migration.
explaining the post-1965 surge from Latin America — PubMed - NIH
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Confirms full name of the 19‑year‑old Mexican detainee as Royer Perez‑Jimenez.
- Specifies his prior arrest: Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 22 on felony fraud for impersonation and resisting an officer.
- Clarifies custody timeline: transferred to ICE on Feb. 21 and moved to Glades County Detention Center on Feb. 26.
- Provides ICE’s account of intake screening: Perez‑Jimenez denied behavioral‑health issues and answered "no" to all suicide‑screening questions.
- Restates that he was found unconscious and unresponsive at 2:34 a.m. ET and pronounced dead 17 minutes later.
- Places his death in broader context: fourth ICE detention death this month and youngest detainee to die in ICE custody during Trump’s second term.
- Reiterates that ICE is treating the death as a presumed suicide while the official cause remains under investigation.
- Lists three other 2026 in‑custody deaths by name, nationality, date and location: Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi (Iranian, March 1, Mississippi), Emmanuel Cleeford Damas (Haitian, March 2, Arizona), and Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal (Afghan, March 14, Texas).
- Updates cumulative toll since January 2025: 44 deaths in ICE detention under Trump’s second term, with 31 in calendar year 2025 — more than the previous four years combined, per records reviewed by MS NOW.
- Notes prior case of Geraldo Lunas Campos, whose death El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled a homicide after ICE had characterized it as a suicide attempt.
- Identifies the deceased as 19‑year‑old Mexican migrant Royer Perez‑Jimenez and says ICE reports he 'died of presumed suicide,' with the official cause of death still under investigation.
- Specifies he died at Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, a jail the Biden administration had shut down and the Trump administration later reopened to hold immigration detainees.
- Provides a detailed ICE timeline: Perez‑Jimenez was found 'unconscious and unresponsive' at 2:34 a.m., CPR was begun, he was found to be without a pulse by facility medical staff, and he was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m.
- Reports that Perez‑Jimenez was arrested Jan. 22 in Volusia County for felony impersonation and resisting an officer according to ICE, but that the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office told AP it has no record of him in its system under that name and date.
- Quotes the Mexican government calling immigration detention deaths 'unacceptable' and demanding a prompt and thorough U.S. investigation, and notes consular officials have visited the facility and requested documentation.
- Includes condemnation from advocacy group Detention Watch Network, which says immigration detention 'deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones, and subjects people to abysmal conditions.'
- CBS, citing ICE data, reports that deaths in ICE custody are now at their highest level in roughly 20 years.
- ICE confirms that the death of a 19‑year‑old Mexican detainee in Florida on Monday was the 13th death in ICE detention so far this year.
- CBS frames the 2026 death tally as part of a growing trend in detention fatalities, not just isolated incidents.