U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Wednesday that a 48-year-old man held in its custody died in a California hospital last month.
Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, a Mexican national, died the morning of February 27 after being hospitalized for chest pain and shortness of breath.
Border Patrol arrested Gutierrez-Reyes Jan. 9 in Los Angeles. He had been "present in the United States without admission” and was subject to removal proceedings, according to ICE.
ICE’s release says Gutierrez-Reyes was hospitalized after he reported feeling faint on February 25. He was admitted to Victor Valley Global Medical Center.
Local officials say Gutierrez-Reyes is the ninth detainee to die in ICE custody since the beginning of 2026.
"The Trump administration does not value human life. They are using our federal tax dollars to bankroll detention and a deadly deportation machine instead of funding healthcare, food, housing, education, and the systems that actually keep people alive,” Los Angeles city Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said in a statement.
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Earlier this year, Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died during a scuffle with guards inside the Camp East Montana detention center.
After Campos died on January 3, the Department of Homeland Security issued a short statement that did not provide a cause of death.
"He was pronounced deceased at 10:16 p.m. after experiencing medical distress," the statement said. "His cause of death is under investigation."
And a 27-year-old man died while in ICE custody on February 16 after collapsing unexpectedly at a Miami hospital, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Jairo Garcia-Hernandez died at Larkin Community Hospital after "he collapsed unexpectedly" and became unresponsive, DHS said in a statement.
ICE is mandated by law to provide public reports of in-custody deaths within 90 days on its website.
