The first death of a detainee at the GEO-run Adelanto ICE Processing Center, since the Trump administration took office, has been confirmed, according to a press release by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, of Mexico, passed away in the early morning hours on Monday.
L.A. TACO spoke with the family and learned that Ayala-Uribe was brought to the U.S. at the age of four and has called Westminster in Orange County home his whole life. He was unmarried, but according to his younger brother Jose, Ismael, who was the oldest, treated their sister’s children as his own.
According to the family, Ayala-Uribe was healthy when he was detained over a month ago, but became ill in the last two weeks. His mother, Lucia Ayala, would visit him every Saturday. She first noticed Ayala-Uribe started getting a cough two weeks ago. She instructed her son to ask for medication, but told her, “Amá, no me quieren dar nada.” (Mom, they don’t want to give me anything).