Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, a 45-year-old Venezuelan man, died on Monday morning, July 13th, 2026, while being transferred between detention facilities in Georgia. Officials announced the death on Wednesday, July 15th, marking the 22nd death in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody this year.

ICE stated in a press release that Arenas-Silva was arrested last Thursday, July 9th, 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. ICE cited cardiac arrest as the suspected cause of death.

Arenas-Silva’s sister and immigrant rights groups in Georgia claimed that ICE failed to provide him with necessary medications for an unnamed medical condition during his detention, despite family requests. When detained at his home, ICE initially ignored the family's plea to allow him to take his medications and later permitted only one medication.

“I am 100% certain that he did not receive proper care,” said Arenas-Silva’s sister, who remains unnamed in the statement. She expressed deep mourning over his death and vowed to seek justice for him and others in similar situations.

Azadeh Shahshahani, legal and advocacy director for Project South, a civil rights organization in Georgia, condemned the detention center and ICE’s handling of Arenas-Silva’s medical needs, stating, “He should have never been detained at the notorious Irwin County Detention Center, especially given his medical condition. ICE’s callous disregard towards the humanity of Jesus Manuel Arenas-Silva, not even allowing him to take along his essential medication, is abominable.”

This death follows the late June passing of Adrian Andreas Florian, an 85-year-old German man who died in a hospital while in ICE custody after being detained in Texas. Arenas-Silva’s death has intensified calls for accountability within the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, amid recent fatalities linked to aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.

Sources