By Jack Tomczuk
The family of a Cambodian American man who died last month in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody is demanding that federal officials release more information about the hours he spent behind bars.
Parady La, 46, died Jan. 9 while suffering drug withdrawal symptoms, three days after agents detained him outside his Upper Darby home and took him to the Federal Detention Center (FDC) at 7th and Arch streets.
On behalf of La’s family, attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, request with ICE and the Bureau of Prisons, which will likely serve as a precursor to federal litigation.
“I’m grieving the loss of my dad, but I am also angry,” Jazmine La, Parady’s adult daughter, told reporters Thursday, Feb. 5, outside the FDC. “I’m enraged at the thought of my father suffering in a cell while the staff actively ignored his distress.
“We will fight, and we will not stop fighting until our questions are answered.”
ICE, in a Jan. 10 statement, said La had been “receiving treatment for severe drug withdrawal” at the FDC following his Jan. 6 arrest. A day after being detained, he was found unresponsive in his cell, and correctional officers administered CPR and multiple doses of Narcan, agency representatives added.
Medics transported La to Jefferson University Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition and found to have limited brain function, according to ICE. His condition deteriorated, and he died in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, federal officials said.
Immigrant advocates, organized under the Shut Down Detention Campaign, said sources informed them that La told jail employees that he need medical attention for fentanyl withdrawal and vomited several times in the hours after arriving at the FDC.
They have also questioned why Narcan – the brand name for naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses – was used to treat withdrawal symptoms. Jazmine La said her father’s organs were failing; his skin was cold; and his brain was deprived of oxygen by the time he got to Jefferson.
The ACLU of Pennsylvania has asked for a wide swath of files, including documents related to La’s medical care, autopsy, witness statements, prison policies, along with video footage.
“The La family and the public deserve answers and accountability, and the FOIA request is the first step in that process,” ACLU PA attorney Victoria Peña-Parr said. “With these records, we will help uncover what is happening in detention centers.”
ICE and the Bureau of Prisons have 20 days to respond, though the agencies can request an extension until March 20. ACLU representatives said ICE routinely denies requests, meaning the organization expects to appeal to a federal judge to acquire the documents.
In addition to the files, the La family is seeking financial compensation and policy changes. They have retained a Philadelphia-based civil rights firm and the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project to prepare a potential wrongful death suit, ACLU representatives said.
La’s loved ones also want to clear his name. An ICE press release announcing the death refers to him as a “career criminal, illegal alien” and lists 10 juvenile and adult convictions over a period of three decades.
Relatives said La increasingly turned to drugs following the death of his younger brother, John, who was fatally shot in 2005 during a robbery outside his house.
“Parady was not perfect, and he struggled with addiction,” Meghan Morgan, La’s wife, said. “But he still always showed up for his family. To us, he was a provider, a caregiver and our protector.”
La was born in a Thai refugee camp after his family fled violence in Cambodia. He immigrated to the United States as a 2-year-old in the early 1980s, becoming a lawful permanent resident. He lost his legal status due to the criminal convictions, ICE stated.
Family members said La grew up in West Philadelphia and Delaware County, surrounded by a tight-knit group of nieces, nephews and other relatives. He attended Upper Darby High School.
His death and his family’s push for answers comes amid heightened resistance to the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy and enforcement tactics, both locally and around the country.
“Mr. La’s death was a completely unnecessary and preventable tragedy,” said state Sen. Tim Kearney, a Democrat whose district covers part of Delaware County. “The recklessness that Americans are witnessing on the streets of Minneapolis is mirrored by the negligence that ICE is demonstrating here with the people they have detained.”
In 2025, 32 people died in ICE custody, the highest total in more than 20 years, the Guardian reported. Two of those deaths happened at Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a privately-run correctional facility in central Pennsylvania.
ICE is in the process of expanding its detention operations in the commonwealth, having recently spent around $200 million to purchase properties in Berks and Schuylkill counties capable of housing 9,000 people.