Dying in ICE Custody: Inside One Family’s Story of Heartbreak

Lucia Uribe visited her son, Ismael Ayala-Uribe, each week at an ICE detention centre in Adelanto, California, after he was arrested while working at a car wash on August 17, 2025. During their final visit, he was feverish and told her he thought he would not make it; he died two days later. A coroner attributed his death to complications from an abscess in his pelvic region, while his family argues inadequate medical care allowed the infection to worsen. More than 50 people died in ICE custody during the first 500 days of Donald Trump’s second term, and experts fear 2026 could match or surpass 2025’s record.