Dying in ICE custody: Inside one family’s story of heartbreak

'A large failure'

A round-faced antheral with dark-rimmed glasses, a moustache and short-trimmed hair, Ismael came to the US erstwhile helium was lone 5 years old.

Southern California became his home, and arsenic an adult, helium qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which offered impermanent extortion against deportation.

He mislaid his DACA status, however, successful 2015 aft a condemnation for driving nether the influence.

His household remembers him arsenic a caring lad and uncle, ever consenting to bargain his niece and nephew caller apparel oregon schoolhouse supplies.

“Ismael was ever looking aft his siblings. He conscionable had a large heart,” said his brother, Jose Miguel Ayala. “He was precise protective of not conscionable us, but my mum and dada too.”

He was 39 years aged erstwhile helium was brought to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.

Two weeks aft his arrival, Ismael told his household that helium developed a precocious fever and a achy sore connected his backside.

On September 18, 2025, workers astatine Adelanto initiated a Code Blue alert for Ismael, signalling a life-threatening aesculapian emergency. Medical unit rushed him from his dorm to the infirmary successful a wheelchair.

ICE documents amusement that Ismael was fixed symptom medication, an ointment and a fibre supplement.

But according to Physicians for Human Rights' Cuneo, who reviewed the case, Ismael should person received a carnal introspection and antibiotics.

"That is simply a large failure," Cuneo said.

Demonstrators permission achromatic flowers extracurricular the Adelanto ICE Processing Center connected September 29 successful solidarity with those detained wrong [Jill Connelly/AP Photo]

That weekend, hours aft Lucia’s visit, Ismael’s information worsened. Just aft midnight connected Sunday, ICE records accidental helium was vomiting, shaking and sweating.

According to ICE documents, helium was aboriginal sent to an intensive attraction unit, wherever helium went into cardiac apprehension wrong minutes of his accomplishment and subsequently died.

“I judge Ismael’s decease could person afloat been prevented by timely care,” Cuneo said. “It was a elemental abscess that was not treated successful a timely manner.”

Fault Lines obtained a coroner's probe that reveals Ismael was critically sick erstwhile helium archetypal arrived astatine the hospital, a information that was near retired of ICE's nationalist study connected his death.

The coroner's study besides contradicts ICE's timeline for Ismael's death. It indicates Ismael went into cardiac apprehension aboriginal connected September 21, astir a afloat time earlier helium passed away. Medical staff, however, managed to reconstruct his heartbeat aft intubating him.

That conflicts with ICE's report, which lone notes his pulse stopping once: soon earlier his decease was announced connected the greeting of September 22. ICE described his information connected September 21 arsenic "calm and cooperative", but it signalled nary bosom problems.

“If they had fixed him the aesculapian attraction and what helium needed, possibly helium would beryllium present with us,” Lucia said.

In a connection astir Ismael’s death, ICE said detainees person “comprehensive aesculapian care” passim their clip successful custody.

But California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta told Fault Lines that his bureau recovered “the nonstop opposite" during its inspections of the state's detention centres.

“We've gone to these facilities. We've gone into Adelanto. We person done our ain carnal inspections," Bonta explained.

“If what the ICE spokesperson said was true, Mr Ayala-Uribe would beryllium with america today.”

An interior mortality reappraisal committee besides recovered that the attraction provided to Ismael astatine Adelanto "deviated beyond harmless limits of practice", according to a papers obtained by US media earlier this year.

It besides suggests that aesculapian unit delayed responding to calls astir Ismael's declining wellness successful the days starring up to his death.