A 45-year-old Venezuelan man has become the 22nd person to die in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody this year, officials announced Wednesday. Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva died on Monday morning while being transferred between detention facilities in Georgia, according to ICE.
Details of the incident
ICE stated that Arenas-Silva was arrested last Thursday and detained at the Irwin County Detention Center, a privately run facility in Georgia. He was being transferred to the Folkston ICE processing center when he was found unresponsive on a transport bus. The suspected cause of death is cardiac arrest, ICE said.
Arenas-Silva entered the U.S. in 2021 and was encountered by border patrol officials in California days later. An immigration judge in Atlanta ordered his removal to Venezuela in April. ICE arrested him last week during a targeted enforcement action in Dallas, Georgia.
Family and advocates allege lack of medication
In a press statement, Arenas-Silva's sister and immigrants' rights groups in Georgia said that ICE did not provide him with necessary medications for an unnamed condition, despite family pleas. He went without medication during his detention until his death, the statement said.
“I am 100% certain that he did not receive proper care,” Arenas-Silva's sister said. “I deeply mourn his passing in such a cruel manner; that is why I will seek justice for him and for everyone else who goes through this.”
When arrested, ICE initially ignored his family's request for him to take his medication, then allowed only one medication. He later called his sister from detention and said officials did not give him the needed medication.
ICE response and facility history
In response to claims, DHS re-sent the original ICE press release highlighting that Arenas-Silva received medical care and was seen by medical professionals while in custody.
The Irwin County Detention Center resumed detaining immigrants last year after its contract with ICE was terminated in 2021 following whistleblower allegations of medical abuse. In 2020, the facility faced allegations of non-consensual gynecological procedures on female detainees. A 2022 Senate investigation found that female detainees appeared to have been subjected to excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary gynecological procedures.
“He should have never been detained at the notorious Irwin County Detention Center, especially given his medical condition,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, legal and advocacy director for Project South. “ICE’s callous disregard towards the humanity of Jesus Manuel Arenas-Silva, not even allowing him to take along his essential medication, is abominable. They must be held accountable.”
Broader context of deaths in ICE custody
Arenas-Silva's death follows three other deaths in the past week during DHS immigration enforcement. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot by an ICE official in Texas, Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was shot by ICE in Maine, and another man died after being hit by a semi-truck while fleeing officials.
In late June, 85-year-old German Adrian Andreas Florian died in ICE custody in Texas. Since January 2025, a record 33 detainee deaths have been reported, the highest in over two decades. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal called for an end to for-profit detention centers, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has urged independent investigations into deaths in U.S. immigration custody.
