19-Year-Old Becomes Youngest Person to Die in ICE Detention Under Trump’s Second Term
Teen death in ICE custody raises renewed questions about conditions, oversight, and federal accountability.
A 19-year-old detained at a U.S. immigration facility in Florida has died, becoming the youngest person to die in ICE custody since the start of Donald Trump’s second term.
Royer Perez-Jimenez, originally from Mexico, was found “unconscious and unresponsive” on March 16 inside the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was later pronounced dead after emergency response efforts.
ICE stated that the death was a “presumed suicide,” while confirming that the official cause of death remains under investigation. The agency also said that Perez-Jimenez was evaluated by medical staff at intake and reported no behavioral health concerns or suicidal ideation at that time.
Perez-Jimenez was arrested in Volusia County, Florida, on January 22 on charges of felony fraud and misdemeanor resisting an officer. He was transferred into ICE custody on February 21 and moved to the Glades County Detention Center several days later, where he remained until his death.
His death is at least the 13th reported in ICE custody in 2026 and the second within the same week, raising renewed questions about conditions and oversight inside immigration detention facilities.
The Glades County Detention Center has faced documented scrutiny over multiple years. Reports from advocacy organizations, including the ACLU of Florida and Detention Watch Network, describe unsafe environmental conditions, lack of access to basic necessities, and the use of chemical agents inside the facility. Testimony collected in those reports includes accounts of exposure to toxic substances and conditions that made it difficult for detainees to breathe.
Despite repeated incidents and documented concerns, there has been no sustained federal investigation into detention conditions or systemic oversight failures across ICE facilities.
Perez-Jimenez’s death adds to a growing number of fatalities inside immigration detention, underscoring ongoing concerns about medical care, facility conditions, and accountability within the system.
This story is still unfolding — and accountability doesn’t happen unless it is followed, documented, and pushed into the light.
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