Cuban Immigrant Dies by Suspected Suicide in Georgia ICE Detention Center

Denny Adán González, a 33-year-old Cuban immigrant, died inside the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, earlier this week, according to a congressional notification reviewed by The Guardian. ICE confirmed the death on Friday and said the suspected cause is suicide, though the official cause remains under investigation.

The Stewart facility, run by private prison company CoreCivic on behalf of ICE, has a grim track record. González is the fourth person to die by suicide there. Past tragedies include a Panamanian immigrant in solitary confinement in 2017 and two Mexican men dying by suicide in 2018 and last summer. The facility can hold nearly 2,000 detainees and has long faced accusations of medical neglect and abusive use of solitary confinement.

CoreCivic reported that staff found González unresponsive in his living area around 10:26 pm Tuesday night and called a medical emergency. Emergency responders pronounced him dead before transport. Independent reporter Andrew Free, who tracks deaths in immigration detention, reported González had been placed in solitary confinement after an altercation with a guard. Neither ICE nor CoreCivic addressed questions about this detail.

The death adds to a disturbing trend: 18 people have died in ICE custody so far in 2026, making this year one of the deadliest in two decades. Since October, 30 people have died in ICE detention. González had been deported in 2020 but reentered the US in 2022. He was detained in January after a December arrest on charges including assault and domestic violence.

Advocates like Azadeh Shahshahani of Project South call for the Stewart facility’s closure, citing mounting tragedies and systemic abuses. Instead of reform, ICE has expanded detention under the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies, fueling a ballooning detention population and rising deaths.

This latest death underscores the urgent need for congressional action to end the inhumane conditions and prevent further loss of life in ICE detention centers nationwide. The private prison model, lack of oversight, and punitive practices like solitary confinement continue to exact a deadly toll.