ICE reports 18th detainee death in 2026, putting agency on track for new record

Politics ICE reports 18th detainee death in 4 months, putting agency on track for new record By Camilo Montoya-Galvez Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization's social media accounts. Read Full Bio Camilo Montoya-Galvez May 1, 2026 / 11:49 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday reported the 18th death of an individual in its custody so far this year, putting the agency on track to record a new all-time high in detainee deaths if the grim trend continues.A 33-year-old man from Cuba died at an ICE detention center in Georgia on Tuesday, the agency said in a notification to Congress and a public press release. ICE said Denny Adan Gonzalez was found unresponsive in his cell at the privately operated Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, late Tuesday. The agency described the suspected cause of death as suicide and said its investigation is ongoing.The reported suicide is the 18th ICE detainee death in the first four months of 2026. Last year, ICE recorded 31 detainee deaths, a two-decade high that nearly surpassed the all-time record set in 2004, when 34 deaths were reported. ICE said Gonzalez first entered the U.S. in May 2019 at an official port of entry along the Texas border, but that he was deported the following year. The agency said he reentered the country illegally in 2022 and was subsequently released by U.S. immigration officials.In December, ICE said Gonzalez was arrested by local officials in Charlotte, North Carolina, on assault and domestic violence charges, prompting the federal agency to take him into custody in January. He had been in ICE custody ever since, ICE added.The sharp increase in ICE detainee deaths over the past year has coincided with the Trump administr...