Fifty-nine-year-old Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi was pronounced deceased on March 1 at Merit Health Hospital in Natchez, Mississippi, at 6:32 p.m. He first arrived in the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1991.
Karshenas made contact with ICE on August 22, 2014, in Nashville, Tennessee, who initiated removal proceedings following a 2009 federal drug conviction. On October 23, 2014, an immigration judge ordered Karshena’s removal to Iran. However, according to ICE, he was released under an Order of Supervision after ICE was unable to obtain travel documents to Iran.
ICE lodged an immigration detainer on Karshenas following a 2025 arrest and drug conviction, and he was taken into ICE custody on April 22, 2025.
Karshenas was initially detained at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, where he was discovered to have several chronic medical conditions following a medical screening. ICE alleges he was given medication and vaccinations to address these issues, and was in constant medical care.
On October 25, 2025, Karshenas was transferred to the Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Angola, where a second medical screening allegedly reported no significant or life-threatening medical issues.
On February 20, 2026, ICE Health Service Corps staff evaluated Karshenas and transferred him to Riverbridge Specialty Hospital in Vidalia, Louisiana, for long-term care.
According to the ICE press release, on March 1, around 4:00 p.m., RSH medical staff reported that Karshenas was “stable without any sign of distress and he denies any pain.” However, just two hours later, Karshenas experienced a fatal cardiac arrest.
Karshenas is currently the 11th person to have died while in ICE custody this year that we know of, and the 17th ICE-related death since the killing of Keith Porter on December 31, 2025.
