WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – A detainee passed away while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Indiana on Monday. The cause of death is currently under investigation, ICE announced on Wednesday, marking at least the seventh death in federal immigration custody in 2026.
Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old Cambodian national, was being held at the Miami Correctional Facility. He was found unresponsive in his cell by staff, according to ICE’s statement. The number of individuals detained by ICE has surged to record levels under U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, resulting in deaths reaching a two-decade high last year. As of early February, ICE had approximately 68,000 individuals in custody, a significant increase from the 40,000 detainees when Trump assumed office.
Sim arrived in the U.S. as a refugee in 1983 and obtained permanent residency status in 1986, as stated by ICE.
He was arrested and detained in Boston in December, with an immigration judge ordering his removal to Cambodia back in 2006. Sim had a history of previous arrests for disorderly conduct, indecent exposure, and larceny, resulting in a suspended sentence and probation, according to ICE.
Concerns have been raised by Democrats and civil rights organizations regarding the conditions within ICE detention facilities, describing them as inhumane. Just earlier this month, Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman who suffered the loss of multiple family members in Gaza, was hospitalized for three days after experiencing a seizure while in U.S. immigration detention. Kordia, a 33-year-old Muslim Palestinian woman with a U.S. citizen mother, claimed she was restrained during her hospital stay.
Despite allegations of mistreatment, ICE maintains that detainees receive appropriate medical attention, and the federal government refutes claims of inhumane treatment.
ICE has faced increased scrutiny following the death of Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos in a Texas detention center on January 3. The El Paso County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by asphyxia from neck and torso compression, with a witness asserting that guards had choked Lunas. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued conflicting statements regarding the incident, failing to mention choking or homicide. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Rod Nickel)
