A Southern California immigration detention center faces renewed scrutiny after federal officials confirmed the death of a detainee last week, marking the fourth fatality since September and contributing to what is becoming one of the deadliest years on record in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano, who was being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, died on March 25, according to ICE. He and the other three decedents were Mexican nationals, prompting the Mexican government to demand an immediate review of the facility, pointing to “serious omissions and evident deficiencies” in medical care.
Ramos-Solano’s death raises the nationwide death toll in ICE custody in last three months of to 14.
The figures reflect a sharp increase compared to recent years. In 2025, 33 people died in ICE custody, according to agency data, compared with 11 in 2024, seven in 2023, three in 2022, and five in 2021.
Ramos-Solano’s death has intensified concerns about conditions at the Adelanto facility, which is already the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit alleging widespread abuse. Detainees claim they have been subjected to mold, disease, inadequate food and water, and systemic medical neglect.
Advocates say the latest death underscores those claims.
Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said her organization received a hotline call from a witness who reported seeing Ramos-Solano struggling to breathe and in visible distress. The caller alleged there was a delay in providing medical assistance.
“We’re on track now to have the deadliest year in ICE history for people detained in their custody,” she said. “Given the conditions and the level of medical negligence we are already challenging in court, this should not come as a surprise.”
In a statement, ICE said staff found Ramos-Solano unresponsive in his bunk and immediately initiated life-saving measures, including CPR, while calling emergency services. He was later transported to a hospital in Victorville, where he died. The official cause of death has not yet been determined.
Ramos-Solano was arrested during a targeted law enforcement operation in Torrance on Feb. 23, according to the statement. The agency said he was convicted last year of possession of a controlled substance and theft.
ICE maintains that Ramos-Solano received consistent medical care during his detention, noting he had been diagnosed with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension upon intake in February and was treated daily for those conditions.
According to ICE, Ramos was arrested during a targeted law enforcement operation in Torrance on February 23. The agency said he was convicted last year of possession of a controlled substance and theft.
The statement said the agency was “committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments.”
GEO Group Inc., the private contractor that operates the Adelanto facility, declined to comment, referring inquiries to ICE.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry called for the probe when it learned of Ramos-Solano’s death on Friday.
The consulate in San Bernardino said it contacted Ramos-Solano’s family to provide assistance and support. Officials said they are also in communication with authorities to ascertain the cause of death, obtain the complete medical record and review the circumstances surrounding the death.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates its call to the responsible authorities to ensure that these regrettable cases do not continue and demands an immediate review of the Adelanto center, due to the serious omissions and evident deficiencies in the provision of medical care to the people in its custody,” the statement read.
“The Government of Mexico will exhaust all legal and diplomatic avenues to raise awareness of the current problem and address this case, reiterating its commitment to ensuring the protection and dignity of Mexican citizens abroad.”
During a press conference last week, Roberto Velasco Álvarez, the top North American official in Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said 13 Mexican nationals have died either during immigration operations or while in immigration detention.
Government officials said four of those have been in California, according to the Mexican government. The ages of the people who have died were between 19 and 69 years-old.
Of the 13, Mexican officials said that includes six who died of medical complications, four from suicide, two during ICE operations and another in the shooting at the detention center in Dallas.
In Adelanto, the three others who died were Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old former DACA recipient, who had been held in Adelanto for nearly a month before his death in September; Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, 56, who lived near Costa Mesa, and died Oct. 23, about a week after being detained; and Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, 48, who died on February 27.
Velasco referred to the deaths as “absolutely painful, heartbreaking, and of course, also absolutely unacceptable to the Mexican government.” Two lawsuits have already been filed by the families of these individuals, he said.
The post As fourth man dies at Adelanto ICE detention center, Mexican officials call for investigation appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
