A 39-year-old former DACA recipient died in ICE custody this week. Ismael Ayala-Uribe had been detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville since August, when he was arrested by immigration agents.
Ayala-Uribe is the 14th person to die in immigration custody in the U.S. this year. ICE said in a statement that an investigation into the cause of death is underway, and community groups are demanding an independent report on what happened.
The death comes as Adelanto has seen a surge of hundreds more detainees since immigration agents ramped up enforcement in Southern California this summer. The privately run detention center has faced accusations of medical abuse and neglect, and some lawmakers recently were turned away when they tried to enter the facility.
But experts told LAist that they doubted much would come from ICE's investigation into the death. Sergio Perez, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said government oversight of deaths in its detention centers is limited and flawed.
" Accountability and transparency in this space following a death in custody has always been severely lacking. It's even more lacking now," Perez said.
What happened?
Ayala-Uribe died in the early hours of Monday morning, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The agency said he was evaluated by a medical provider at Adelanto on Sept. 18, given medication and returned to his dorm. Three days later, on Sunday, he was sent to a nearby hospital, where he was evaluated for an "abscess on his buttock" and scheduled for surgery.
The next day, he was dead.
The center has been under scrutiny for its treatment of people detained there for years and has been in the spotlight again in recent months as it received a surge of people detained in this summer's immigration sweeps.
The advocacy group Disability Rights California visited the facility in June and interviewed 18 people detained there. It then issued a report claiming that detainees faced "inadequate access to medical treatment, such as life-saving medication and wound care, and exposure to widespread respiratory illnesses."
"Due to the surging numbers of people at Adelanto, conditions appear to have quickly deteriorated,” that report reads.
What is ICE required to do after a death in custody?
When a person dies in immigration detention, ICE is required to post the news within two business days. The agency is then legally required to publish all its reports on the death within 90 days. Those reports are posted online.
According to ICE's policy posted online, the agency "conducts medical reviews, as well as oversight and compliance investigations," and its Office of Professional Responsibility examines the circumstances of the death. ICE's review is then given to Homeland Security's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Critics have questioned the accuracy of ICE investigations into in-custody deaths for years. In 2024, the ACLU issued a report looking at the deaths of 52 people in ICE custody between 2017 and 2021.
"ICE’s investigations, formal and informal reports and recommendations in response to deaths in custody are structured to avoid fault and disclaim agency accountability for the death of detained immigrants," that report reads, in part.
Two immigration experts told LAist that the offices at the Department of Homeland Security responsible for investigating deaths like Ayala-Uribe's have been eroded under the second Donald Trump administration.
Heidi Altman with the National Immigration Law Center cited recent job cuts in DHS offices such as the offices for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Immigration Detention Ombudsman.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement to LAist that those offices obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS' mission.
"Rather than supporting law enforcement efforts, they often function as internal adversaries that slow down operations," according to McLaughlin.
The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman conducts oversight and will "independently examine immigration detention to promote safe, humane conditions," according to its government website.
" You start seeing things like the dismantling of the oversight bodies that provided the very, very little accountability that was there for abuses and medical negligence and custody," Altman said. "And you just know that these detention centers are becoming increasingly dangerous places for people to be."
McLaughlin wrote that all legally required functions continue to be performed and that DHS remains committed to civil rights.
What about lawmakers?
There are other paths for oversight of conditions at detention centers. Lawmakers can launch their own investigations. In July, Sen. Jon Ossoff issued a report on the experiences of pregnant women and children in immigration detention, including inadequate medical care. That investigation is ongoing.
"Obstruction of Congressional oversight by the Department of Homeland Security has been an impediment to site visits and interviews with detainees," that report claims.
In a statement provided to LAist, Rep. Raul Ruiz called for a full investigation into Ayala-Uribe's death.
"Congress has a duty to provide strong oversight to ensure that all individuals in custody are treated with dignity and receive timely, appropriate care," Ruiz said.
His district includes Eastern Coachella Valley, and parts of Imperial and San Bernardino counties.
What’s another path forward?
Perez, with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said these limitations on government oversight meant a private lawsuit might be the most effective route for families, such as Ayala-Uribe’s, to take. But he noted that lawsuits are costly and shifts the burden to individuals rather than the state.
"Lawsuits are slow. Lawsuits are expensive. Lawsuits are emotionally trying," Perez said, adding that it means those who have lost loved ones are "continuously traumatized" and must be the ones to labor in getting justice.
LAist reached out to the lawyer for Ayala-Uribe's family but didn't receive a response before publishing.
