A 42-Year-Old Mexican Man Has Died In ICE Custody

He is the 10th immigrant to die ICE custody this year.

A 42-year-old Mexican man died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at a hospital in Texas on Saturday, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The death is the 10th since October, when the 2020 fiscal year began. The agency had eight deaths in custody in the entire 2019 fiscal year.

Before being hospitalized, the man had been in ICE custody at a Texas detention center, the source, who could not speak publicly on the matter, told BuzzFeed News.

ICE officials have long said that the agency is dedicated to providing timely and comprehensive medical care to immigrants in its custody, noting that they have access to a daily sick call and 24-hour emergency care. The agency has publicized that it spends more than $269 million each year on health care services.

In December, the House Oversight and Reform Committee announced it opened an investigation into the medical care of immigrant detainees in the wake of a BuzzFeed News story that revealed a series of allegations of substandard care from a whistleblower.

BuzzFeed News first reported the memo and documented its reports of detainees being given incorrect medication and suffering from delays in treatment of withdrawal symptoms. One detainee was allowed to become so mentally unstable that he lacerated his own penis and required surgery, according to the memo.

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