- A 19-year-old Mexican national died in ICE custody at the Glades County Detention Center in Florida.
- The agency described the incident as a presumed suicide while an investigation into the official cause continues.
- This death marks the 13th fatality in 2026, intensifying scrutiny over medical and mental health oversight in detention.
(MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said March 19, 2026 that 19-year-old Mexican national Royer Perez-Jimenez died at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, after what the agency called “a presumed suicide,” while adding that “the official cause of his death remains under investigation.”
Perez-Jimenez was found dead on March 16, 2026, at the Florida detention center, in a case drawing national attention because he is the youngest known person to die in ICE custody since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025.
ICE said a Glades County detention officer found Royer Perez-Jimenez “unconscious and unresponsive” in his dormitory at about 2:34 a.m. Facility staff began CPR, and two medical professionals arrived shortly afterward. Moore Haven Fire Rescue was called at 2:40 a.m. and started “life-sustaining interventions,” but Perez-Jimenez was pronounced deceased at 2:51 a.m.
The agency said the investigation remained open when it issued its statement. ICE also said it notified the DHS Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility through the Integrity Coordination Center, and that it informed the Mexican consulate and Perez-Jimenez’s next of kin.
“ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.”
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The death at the Glades County Detention Center has added to scrutiny of fatalities in immigration detention in 2026. Perez-Jimenez’s age has made the case especially prominent, and his death marks the 13th fatality in ICE custody reported so far in 2026.
That number has intensified attention on detention practices because advocacy groups have said 2026 is on track to surpass the record high of 31 deaths recorded in 2025. Those groups have also raised concerns about medical and mental health oversight in a rapidly expanding detention system.
Perez-Jimenez, identified by ICE as a 19-year-old Mexican national, first entered the United States in February 2022. He received a voluntary return, according to the agency, and later re-entered on an unspecified date.
His path into ICE custody this year began with a local arrest. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on January 22, 2026, on allegations of felony fraud for impersonation and misdemeanor resisting an officer.
ICE took custody of Perez-Jimenez on February 21. Five days later, on February 26, authorities moved him to the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven.
That placed him in ICE custody for about 23 days before his death on March 16, 2026. The period in detention, while short, has become part of the official timeline surrounding the case.
ICE said intake screening did not show reported behavioral health concerns. During his intake evaluation, the agency said, Perez-Jimenez “denied any behavioral health issues or concerns and answered ‘no’ to all suicide screening questions.”
The agency presented that information as part of its account of events and medical processing at booking. It did not describe that screening as a final explanation for what happened in the hours before his death.
The timeline released by ICE focused closely on the early morning response inside the facility. A detention officer found him in his dormitory, staff started CPR, medical personnel arrived, and Moore Haven Fire Rescue joined the response within minutes.
By 2:51 a.m., responders pronounced him dead. ICE’s public account did not go beyond the phrase “a presumed suicide” and kept the official cause of death under investigation.
That wording matters because it leaves the formal cause undetermined while the inquiry continues. ICE said the case was still under investigation when it issued the statement on March 19, 2026.
The detention center itself has a history that has sharpened attention on the case. Use of the Glades County Detention Center for immigration detention stopped in 2022 after numerous legal complaints over human rights abuses and poor conditions.
The facility resumed housing ICE detainees in April 2025. Perez-Jimenez’s death has now renewed attention on conditions and oversight there, especially because it involves a teenager in federal immigration custody.
Advocacy groups have tied the case to broader concerns about detention expansion and care standards. Their criticism centers on whether medical and mental health safeguards are keeping pace with the number of people being held.
ICE, for its part, pointed to its standard-of-care statement and its notification procedures after the death. The agency said it notified internal oversight bodies and external contacts, including the Mexican consulate and family members.
The account released by ICE laid out the chronology in narrow terms: discovery in the dormitory, emergency aid, outside rescue response, pronouncement of death, and notifications afterward. No public statement described any prior incident in the dormitory or any intervention before the officer found him.
Nor did the agency’s statement alter its central formulation that the death involved a presumed suicide while the official cause remained under investigation. That distinction has become the basis for how federal officials are publicly describing the case.
For immigration detention critics, the case stands out because of Perez-Jimenez’s age and because it comes early in the year as the death count rises. For ICE, the case sits within a formal investigative and reporting structure that includes public death notices and notices to watchdog offices.
The basic record released so far shows a young detainee with a recent transfer history. Perez-Jimenez entered ICE custody on February 21, arrived at the Glades County Detention Center on February 26, and was dead less than three weeks later.
His earlier immigration history also forms part of that record. ICE said he first entered the country in February 2022, received a voluntary return, and later came back on a date the agency did not identify in the statement.
His most recent contact with law enforcement came through the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, which arrested him on January 22, 2026 on felony fraud and misdemeanor resisting an officer allegations. That arrest preceded his transfer into federal immigration detention one month later.
ICE’s public description of his booking included the agency’s statement about health screening responses. Officials said he denied behavioral health issues or concerns and answered no to all suicide screening questions, language the agency used as part of its intake account.
The case is also unfolding against a broader detention tally that has drawn closer examination this year. With 13 fatalities in ICE custody reported so far in 2026, comparisons to the 2025 total of 31 deaths have become part of the public debate over detention operations and oversight.
At the same time, the Glades County facility carries its own record of controversy. The pause in 2022 and the resumption in April 2025 place Perez-Jimenez’s death within a detention site already known for past complaints.
Federal agencies maintain several public channels that track or announce developments tied to cases like this one. ICE published an official newsroom release on March 19, 2026, and the Department of Homeland Security maintains public news releases on immigration enforcement matters at DHS news releases.
ICE also keeps a public detainee death reporting page, alongside updates in its ICE newsroom. In Royer Perez-Jimenez’s case, those official records now document the death of a 19-year-old at the Glades County Detention Center on March 16, 2026, a case that has become a focal point in the debate over conditions inside U.S. immigration detention.
