The Deaths ICE Doesn’t Count
Prisciliano Trejo Ricano spent his 29th birthday on July 10 in Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center. In the privately-run facility that can hold about 1,900 detainees at a time, Trejo Ricano felt “like a number or like a placeholder.” Two days later, in a Facebook post from July 12, Trejo Ricano, who was born in Mexico, […]
Prisciliano Trejo Ricano, a 29-year-old Mexican national, died on July 24 after being admitted to a hospital in a coma following his release from ICE custody. His deteriorating health, including a bad sore throat, coughing blood, and migraines, was not addressed in detention, leading to the discovery of acute leukemia. However, his name does not appear in the tally of ICE detainee deaths, as the agency has stopped reporting deaths occurring within 30 days of release due to a recent policy change.
ICE asserts that Trejo Ricano received adequate medical care during his detention, despite family reports of worsening symptoms and inadequate care. The mortality rate for ICE detainees has reached its highest level in over a decade, with 55 deaths recorded since the start of the Trump administration, compared to 22 in 2026 alone.
The increasing number of deaths, including recent cases like Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, highlights the ongoing abusive and deadly nature of immigration detention.
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