Cuban immigrant dies in Georgia detention center, ICE tells Congress | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
A Cuban immigrant died in an immigration detention center in Georgia earlier this week, according to a congressional declaration sent on Friday and reviewed by the Guardian.
The Cuban man, identified as 33-year-old Denny Adán González, died at the privately run Stewart detention center. It is being investigated whether his death was a suicide or not. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed González’s death. Press release Friday morning.
The man became the 18th person to die in 2026 in the custody of ICE, the agency tasked with carrying out Donald Trump’s anti-immigration agenda along with Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
On Thursday evening, CoreCivic, the private company that operates the Stewart facility in Lumpkin, Georgia, on behalf of ICE, confirmed the death in a statement to the Guardian, without giving many details.
At approximately 10:26 p.m. Tuesday night, on-site CoreCivic staff “called for a medical emergency after finding an unresponsive individual in the living area,” according to the company.
Emergency medical crews arrived and attempted to save the man’s life, but “the individual was pronounced dead before being transported from the facility,” CoreCivic added in the statement.
death happened first reported It was published online Thursday evening by Andrew Free, an investigative reporter and attorney who tracks deaths in immigration detention centers, citing unnamed sources close to the Stewart facility. According to Free’s report, González was sent to solitary confinement inside Stewart after an altercation with a guard.
ICE’s notification and press release to Congress states that “the suspected cause of death is suicide, but the official cause continues to be investigated.” The notice stated that González died at 11:11 p.m. Tuesday night.
Neither ICE nor CoreCivic responded to questions this week about the report of the use of solitary confinement or, in this case, any altercation with a guard.
CoreCivic has previously stated that it is “committed to providing safe, humane, and respectful care for all those entrusted to our care,” and ICE said in a press release Friday that it is “committed to ensuring that everyone in our custody lives in safe, secure, and humane environments.”
The Stewart facility has faced accusations numerous times in the past. lawyersMPs and federal government people investigating medical abuse and improper use solitary confinement. The facility has the capacity to detain approximately 2,000 people.
González became the fourth person to die by suicide at the Stewart detention center. in 2017 young Panamanian died in immigrant isolation cell in 2018 Mexican man also died by suicide in a single-person unit. last summer, another A 45-year-old man from Mexico died by suicide in Stewart.
“As tragedies escalate at Stewart, we renew our call to close this deadly prison,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, legal and advocacy director for Project South, a Georgia-based civil rights organization. “Instead of taking steps to eliminate this prison, ICE is doubling down. It’s time for Congress to take decisive action and close Stewart down once and for all.”
As arrest operations have increased across the country, immigration detention has also increased under the Trump administration. Facilities across the country have faced allegations of mistreatment and horrific conditions. Along with the increase in detention numbers during the second Trump administration, the number of deaths in ICE custody also increased; 2025 has been the deadliest year in two decades. González is the 30th person to die in ICE custody since October.
González was previously deported in 2020 but re-entered the United States in 2022, according to the congressional notification. The congressional notice states that González was detained by ICE in January of this year after being arrested last December for alleged “assault on women and domestic violence.”
