An Indian man died Friday while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, making it the fifth death since the start of the fiscal year last October, according to the federal agency.
Simratpal Singh, a 21-year-old who had been in the U.S. illegally, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his cell at the La Paz County Jail in Arizona Friday morning. Singh had been in ICE custody waiting to be transferred to a federal facility from the local jail.
Singh was taken into police custody at an unspecified point in time prior to Friday and had been charged with assault and sexual assault. He posted bond Thursday, but was held by local police for ICE to take into custody due of his lack of legal status.
“On the same date [Thursday], LPCJ personnel found Mr. Singh unresponsive and not breathing. Local paramedics were called, and Singh was transported via ambulance to the La Paz Regional Hospital in Parker, AZ, and subsequently airlifted to the Abrazo West Campus Hospital (AWCH) in Goodyear, AZ. On May 3, 2019, at 1:58 a.m., AWCH declared Mr. Singh deceased,” according to ICE’s statement.
Singh will undergo an autopsy to identify the cause of death. ICE said it had notified the Indian Consulate, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and ICE Office of Professional Responsibility about Singh’s death. ICE did not disclose if Singh had overstayed a visa.
ICE said Singh’s death was the fifth in fiscal 2019. Other detainees who have died in that time include a Cuban man in November, a Russian man in November, and a Mexican man in April. The fourth death was not specified on its website. A stillborn baby born to a woman in custody in February was not included in the five, according to ICE.
The number of immigrant deaths under the Trump administration is on par with the number of deaths seen during the Obama administration, according to data obtained by the Washington Examiner.
In 2009, when former President Barack Obama took office, 10 people in ICE custody died. Five died in 2012, and 12 died in his last year in office, 2016.
The numbers have been similar under Trump. In 2017, ten detainees died, and 12 died in 2018, according to data from the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Numbers under both Trump and Obama are far lower than the deaths reported by ICE 15 years ago. In calendar year 2004, 32 people died, and 20 died the following year.
The number of people arrested for illegally crossing into the U.S. has also dropped from more than 1 million to half that figure. As that figure dropped, the number of immigrants being held in federal custody also decreased, along with the number of deaths.
Immigrants who are apprehended for illegal entry at the U.S. border are supposed to spend no more than 72 hours in Border Patrol custody while being processed and then transferred to ICE.
Children, including parents traveling with children, cannot be held more than 20 days as part of the 2015 court ruling in the Flores settlement agreement.
