(EL PASO, TEXAS) — U.S. immigration and customs enforcement confirmed that four migrants died in ICE custody between January 3 and January 9, 2026, a cluster of deaths that drew renewed attention to medical care, accountability and detention conditions as the agency holds an elevated number of people.
ICE press releases identified the four as two Hondurans, one Cuban and one Cambodian, with the deaths spanning Texas, California, the Houston area and Philadelphia. ICE reported a detained population of approximately 69,000 as of January 7.
Questions about how detainees are monitored and treated intensified because the deaths came early in the year and followed at least 30 custody deaths in 2025, which ICE described as the highest in two decades.
One of the deaths occurred at Camp East Montana, an ICE facility on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, where the agency said a 55-year-old Cuban national, Geraldo Lunas Campos, was pronounced dead on January 3 at 10:16 p.m. The death is under investigation.
ICE said Lunas Campos became disruptive while waiting for medication and was placed in segregation. ICE said he was later observed in distress, and on-site medical personnel initiated lifesaving measures before emergency services arrived.
A second death involved Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, a 42-year-old honduran national who died on January 5 in a Houston-area hospital from cardiac-related issues, ICE said. The press releases did not provide additional details about the circumstances leading up to his hospitalization.
ice reported that a third detainee, Luis Beltran Yanez–Cruz, a 68-year-old Honduran national, died on January 6 in a hospital in Indio, California, from heart-related issues while held pending removal. His case included custody history that stretched across states.
ICE said Yanez–cruz was arrested November 16, 2025, during an ICE operation in Newark, New Jersey, and that he had a prior 1993 Texas arrest for illegal entry. ICE described his death as heart-related and occurring after a hospital transfer in Indio.
The fourth death involved Parady La, a 46-year-old Cambodian national held at the `Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia`, which ICE said was activated by the administration in 2025. ICE said La died on January 9 following severe drug withdrawal symptoms.
Taken together, the four deaths reflected a multi-site footprint that included an ICE facility on a military base, hospital transfers tied to medical emergencies, and detention in a federal facility in Philadelphia. The press releases did not set out how the investigations would proceed or provide timelines for findings.
Camp East Montana has faced scrutiny before, after a prior reported death there in December 2025. ICE said a Guatemalan detainee, Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, died December 3, 2025.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended detention medical standards amid the rising detained population.
“As bed space has expanded, we have maintained (a) higher standard of care than most prisons that hold US citizens – including providing access to proper medical care,”
McLaughlin said the death rates align with historic norms despite population growth.
Advocates sharply criticized the deaths and urged the government to reduce detention and shutter facilities. Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at Detention Watch Network, called the deaths “truly staggering” and urged closing detention centers, linking the pressures inside facilities to reduced humanitarian releases that push expedited deportations.
ICE has said the detained population is projected to rise after 2025 congressional funding increases. The agency did not provide a projection figure in the press releases announcing the deaths, but the funding reference has been cited by advocates and officials as a factor in expectations of growth.
The deaths also came during a broader period of public scrutiny of enforcement actions, after an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of a Minnesota mother of three sparked protests in Minneapolis and other cities. The press releases on the custody deaths did not connect the cases, but the concurrent events heightened demands from advocates for more transparency around ICE operations.
Between January 3 and 9, 2026, four migrants died in ICE custody across Texas, California, and Pennsylvania. These deaths involved citizens from Honduras, Cuba, and Cambodia. The agency reported a record 30 deaths in 2025 and currently holds 69,000 detainees. While officials claim medical standards are high, advocates cite the cluster of deaths as evidence of systemic failure, urging for facility closures and increased transparency.
