Just weeks after media outlets reported the death of a Cuban man in Miami while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, another Cuban immigrant has died in what authorities ruled a suicide, though the official cause of death remains under investigation.
On April 28, Denny Adán González, 33, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Stewart Detention Center by CoreCivic staff, the company that operates the Georgia facility, at about 10:25 p.m. According to an ICE statement, emergency personnel immediately began treatment and administered CPR. Members of Webster County Emergency Medical Services also responded, but González was pronounced dead at 11:11 p.m.
As reported by Reuters, González was the 18th person to die in ICE custody this year and the fifth reported in April. Last year, authorities reported at least 30 deaths of immigrants in custody, the highest number in two decades.
With death rates in U.S. immigration detention nearing historic highs, a study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that roughly one detainee dies every six days.
Researchers behind the study said the increase coincides with "major operational changes," including expanded detention, overcrowding, and what they described as potentially delayed medical care.
Death ruled a suicide
González is the fourth person to die by suicide at the Stewart Detention Center. According to The Guardian, a young Panamanian immigrant died in a solitary confinement cell in 2017, followed by a Mexican man in 2018 under similar circumstances. Last summer, another 45-year-old Mexican man also died by suicide at the facility.
In its statement, ICE said González, like all detainees, received "comprehensive medical care" from the moment he arrived.
"ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments," the statement said. "All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental, and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days; access to medical appointments; and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained noncitizen denied emergency care."
According to the agency, González first entered the United States in 2019 through a port of entry in Hidalgo, Texas, but was deemed inadmissible and deported in January 2020. He later crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 and was released with an order of supervision.
Last December, González was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office in Charlotte on charges of assault on a female and domestic violence. He was taken into ICE custody and transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in January 2026.
Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, told Reuters that medical staff responded promptly after González was found unresponsive.
"We are deeply saddened by and take very seriously the passing of any individual in our care," Gustin said.
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