Ismael Ayala-Uribe was pronounced dead after detainment in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Sept. 22. Ayala-Uribe was previously approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protection in 2012, but was denied renewal in 2016. Ayala-Uribe is the 14th immigrant to pass away in ICE custody in 2025.
Ayala-Uribe was arrested on Aug. 17 and transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on Aug. 22. Ayala-Uribe’s family claims that he began feeling sick approximately two weeks following his arrest – including a cough, fever and complaints of pain in his buttocks.
According to the ICE press release, Ayala-Uribe received a health evaluation from an on-call medical provider on Sept. 18, who provided Ayala-Uribe with medication and sent him back to his dormitory. Ayala-Uribe was then transferred to Victor Valley Global Medical Center at noon on Sept. 21 for further evaluation and surgery of an abscess on his rear, where the patient was noted to have high blood pressure and an abnormally fast heart rate.
At 1:48 a.m., Ayala-Uribe was declared unresponsive, and the hospital began attempting lifesaving measures. Ayala-Uribe was declared dead at 2:32 a.m. on Sept. 22. His mother, Lucia Ayala, claims that he passed away after suffering from a heart attack.
“They never told us he’d been taken to the hospital or even which hospital, until they told us he had died,” Ayala said, according to ABC 7.
Ayala-Uribe’s family states that he was in good health upon his arrest and transfer to Adelanto. The family told Ayala-Uribe to seek medical care, after witnessing evidence of sickness during their weekly visits to the processing center. Ayala-Uribe allegedly told his family that he was not provided medical care upon request.
ICE denies this claim, stating that in the press release “comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay” regarding Ayala-Uribe’s death.
In June, Democratic members of Congress, including Rep. Judy Chu of California’s 28th Congressional District, toured the Adelanto processing center following the reports of poor living conditions and lack of access to necessities such as food, water and medication. Chu claims the living circumstances in the facility are “inhumane.”
“The detainees told me that they have gone days without changing their clothes, and they have been unable to use the telephone to call their families or a legal representative,” Chu stated in the press release.
DACA is a federal program initiated under former President Barack Obama in 2012 that allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to continue to live and pursue employment within the nation without fearing deportation. Colloquially referred to as Dreamers, the program provides temporary protection to such young immigrants so that they may pursue U.S. citizenship.
Ayala-Uribe was a Dreamer from Mexico. He received DACA protection in 2012, but was denied renewal in 2016 following two DUI arrests. Ayala-Uribe was arrested while working at a Huntington Beach car wash.
The Trump administration has opposed the DACA program throughout President Donald Trump’s time in office. A few days before Ayala-Uribe’s death, 95 members of Congress wrote a letter to Kristi Noem, the United States secretary of homeland security, condemning the detainment and deportation of Dreamers.
The cause of Ayala-Uribe’s death is still under investigation by ICE and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Lauren Durham is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at durhaml@uci.edu.
Edited by Joshua Gonzales