A Mexican national and former DACA recipient died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday, according to federal authorities.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, was arrested by ICE agents on Aug. 17 during an enforcement operation, said a news release from ICE. He was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on Aug. 22 for immigration proceedings.
While detained, agents say that Ayala was evaluated by an on-call medical provider on Sept. 18. He was provided medication, according to ICE, and returned to his dormitory before he was later referred to the hospital on Saturday for further evaluation of an abscess on his buttock.
Ayala was scheduled for surgery and was “hypertensive and displayed normal tachycardia,” the release said. At around 1:50 a.m., hospital staff declared Ayala unresponsive, and less than an hour later, he was pronounced dead despite attempted lifesaving measures, according to ICE.
While speaking with CBS News, Ayala’s mother said that he died after suffering cardiac arrest.
“Saturday was the last time I visited him,” Lucia Ayala told CBS News in Spanish. “He looked very pale and his hands appeared red.”
Ayala-Uribe Family 
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is also investigating the manner and cause of death, they told CBS News Los Angeles.
Ayala’s family said that he was in good health when he was transferred to Adelanto. They told Ayala to receive medical care, as they could see he was sick when they visited him every Saturday after he was detained in Fountain Valley, an Orange County suburb. He allegedly told them that he wasn’t provided medical care by facility officials.
He is the 14th detainee to die in ICE custody since President Trump took office in January, and the first-known death in California’s immigration detention centers.
In a statement, ICE stated that emergency care is not denied for detainees in custody.
“ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments,” said the statement. “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.”
ICE said it notified the Department of Homeland Security and the Consulate of Mexico of the death, among other government agencies.
In June, Democratic members of Congress toured the Adelanto detention facility amid reports of deteriorating conditions, lack of access to food, water, and medication. Rep. Luz Rivas of California was among the group and in a statement said “the conditions we saw inside the Adelanto ICE Detention Center prove that Donald Trump’s policies are putting our most vulnerable in harm’s way.”
In an emotional interview, Ayala says her son was loved by his family, friends and his long-time car wash clients.
The Mexican national worked at a car wash in the Los Angeles area for over 15 years, but was detained by federal agents on Aug. 17 during an immigration enforcement operation. Ayala-Uribe was transferred to Adelanto.
The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, is the federal program that allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to live and work in the country without fear of deportation.
Ayala-Uribe was brought to the U.S. at the age of four and became a DACA recipient in 2012. In 2016, his DACA renewal was denied. Ayala-Uribe was convicted of his first DUI in 2015 and sentenced to three years probation, according to ICE. He was convicted of his second DUI in 2019 and sentenced to 120 days in jail and five years of probation.
Ayala-Uribe’s detention occurred as car wash locations have become targets for the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration in L.A. According to the executive director of the Clean Carwash Worker Center, at least 247 carwash workers were detained from June to September in the L.A. area, with 81 car wash businesses raided.
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