A Mexican national died Wednesday in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a facility in Lovejoy, the Mexican Consulate of Atlanta announced in a statement.
The detainee, whose name has not been released, was being held at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Clayton County. The consulate said they quickly established contact with family members of the deceased in Mexico and in the U.S.
ICE officials did not immediately respond to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution request for comment.
In a statement, the consulate said they’ve asked officials to investigate what happened and do what’s necessary to ensure a fast and transparent probe. The consulate is working to have the body returned to Mexico, per the family’s wishes, according to the statement.
“The Mexican government expresses its most sincere condolences to the family of the compatriot and reiterates its commitment to provide consular protection assistance to our community,” the statement says in Spanish.
Wednesday’s death marks the third Mexican national and ICE detainee to die in Georgia over the past year.
In May, Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, 68, died while being transferred to South Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center, which is one of the country’s largest ICE facilities in the country, from a jail in Valdosta. His relatives told The Guardian he had no known preexisting health conditions before his arrest.
In June, Jesus Molina-Veya, also from Mexico, died from apparent suicide while being held at the South Georgia immigrant jail. He was found with a ligature around his neck and unconscious by correction officers.
Molina-Veya’s death was the third death by suicide at Stewart since ICE began detaining immigrants there in 2006.
Since October 2023, 34 people have died while in ICE custody nationwide, including four this month.
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