A Guatemalan man died at a Miami hospital while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officials said.
Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, 27, died on Feb. 16 at Larkin Community Hospital, ICE officials said Friday.
Garcia-Hernandez collapsed unexpectedly and became unresponsive, and despite livesaving efforts, he died, officials said.
His exact cause of death is under investigation but ICE officials said had a long history of severe medical complications and was already in ill health when he was taken into ICE custody.
ICE officials said Garcia-Hernandez was in the country illegally and had his first encounter with immigration officials on April 18, 2021, when the U.S. Border Patrol released him near Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
On Oct. 31, 2023, he was arrested in New York for trespassing, resisting arrest, obstruction of government administration, false impersonation, impersonating a law enforcement officer, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of firearm.
In May of 2024, he was convicted of two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and sentenced him to time served, and he was released.
On Jan. 21, 2025, New York’s Irondequoit Police Department encountered him and contacted U.S. Border Patrol, who assumed custody and then transferred him into ICE custody.
He was transferred to ICE in Miami in September 2025 for detention at the Larkin Community Hospital Behavioral Health Center in Hollywood, and the El Paso Behavioral Health System in El Paso, Texas.
On Jan. 26, 2026, Garcia-Hernandez was transferred to the Larkin Community Hospital, where, as an immunocompromised individual, he was treated for fever, ICE officials said.
“ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay,” ICE said in a statement. “All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility; access to medical appointments; and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained alien denied emergency care.”