Death of Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva in ICE custody
Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva (45, Venezuela) died on 2026-07-13 while in the custody of ICE, found unresponsive on a transport bus in Irwin County, Georgia. He was the 22nd person reported to have died in ICE custody in 2026. His family says he was denied medication he needed for a preexisting condition.
What is known
- Person: Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, age 45; Venezuela.
- Date: 2026-07-13.
- Location: Found unresponsive at about 7:46 a.m. on a bus transporting detainees from the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, to the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Folkston, Georgia. He was taken to Irwin County Hospital and pronounced dead at 8:31 a.m.
- Agency: ICE.
- Reported cause: Suspected cardiac arrest, pending autopsy.
- Detention: Arrested 2026-07-09 during a targeted enforcement action in Dallas, Georgia, on an outstanding removal order. He had been ordered removed to Venezuela by an immigration judge in Atlanta on 2026-04-27. He died four days after his arrest.
- Official account: ICE-reported death; the agency has said it remains committed to the health and welfare of those in its custody.
- Status: Autopsy pending.
Medication allegation
According to a family member, relatives begged ICE not to detain him because of his medical needs, and asked that he be allowed to bring all of his medications. The family says ICE authorized only one of his medications, and that Arenas-Silva later told them he had not been given the medication he needed. Immigrant-rights advocates have cited the case as an example of detainees being separated from essential medication for preexisting conditions. The allegations have not been independently confirmed and the official cause of death is pending an autopsy.
Facility context
The Irwin County Detention Center, in Ocilla, Georgia, previously had its ICE contract terminated in 2021 following a nurse's whistleblower complaint alleging medical neglect and abuses at the facility. It resumed holding immigration detainees in the past year.
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