A 19-year-old Mexican migrant, Royer Perez-Jimenez, died at a county jail in Florida that holds immigrant detainees, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE stated that Perez-Jimenez “died of presumed suicide,” although the official cause of death remains under investigation.

The death of Perez-Jimenez on Monday marks the 46th reported death under ICE custody since the start of President Trump’s administration in January 2025, according to a count by the Associated Press. He is the second person to die in ICE custody this week, following an Afghan immigrant who died in a Texas hospital after being detained. The Afghan man’s family said he had been evacuated from his country after working for years with U.S. forces.

Since the beginning of this year, a total of 13 immigrants have died in ICE custody. Perez-Jimenez is the youngest among them to have died since the beginning of Trump’s second term.

The Office of the District 21 Medical Examiner did not respond to an AP request for the autopsy report. Meanwhile, the Florida prosecutor’s office referred requests for information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.

In a statement issued Thursday, the Mexican government called such deaths in immigration detention “unacceptable” and demanded a prompt and thorough U.S. investigation to prevent future occurrences. Officials from the Mexican Consulate in Miami visited the facility where Perez-Jimenez was held and requested documentation about the case.

Perez-Jimenez’s death has sparked condemnation within the immigrant community. Carly Pérez Fernández, communications director at Detention Watch Network—a national coalition advocating against immigrant detention—said, “The immigration detention system deprives people of freedom, isolates them from loved ones, and subjects them to abysmal conditions.”

ICE reported that an officer found Perez-Jimenez “unconscious and unresponsive” at 2:34 a.m. on Monday at Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida. This facility, located about 55 miles northeast of Fort Myers, was closed under President Biden’s administration but reopened under the Trump administration.

Officers who discovered Perez-Jimenez immediately called a medical emergency in the dormitory. Staff began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Two medical personnel arrived minutes later and found Perez-Jimenez pulseless. Fire rescue deputies then arrived and initiated life-sustaining interventions. He was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m., 17 minutes after being found, according to ICE.

Perez-Jimenez was arrested on January 21 by police in Edgewater, a rural area in east-central Florida. He faced misdemeanor charges for providing a false name and resisting an officer, based on a police report. ICE took him into federal custody a month later.

Florida is known for its alignment with the Trump administration’s immigration policies and houses some of the most notorious immigrant detention centers, including the South Florida Detention Facility—often referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz”—and Krome North Service Processing Center. Some detainees at these centers have reported finding worms in their food, dealing with nonfunctioning toilets, and enduring overflowing sewage.

Prolonged detention nationwide has become more common during Trump’s current term. This is partly due to a new policy that generally prohibits immigration judges from releasing detainees while their deportation cases proceed through overburdened courts.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-03-20/teenage-mexican-migrant-dies-in-florida-jail-holding-ice-detainees