Jesús Molina-Veya was discovered unresponsive in his cell [with a ligature around his neck] on June 7 and died shortly after being taken to a local hospital
Mexico is pursuing legal options after a Mexican citizen died earlier this month while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. According to Mexican media reports, ICE is now preventing officials from the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta from entering the facility to speak with other detainees.
On June 7, 45-year-old Jesús Molina-Veya was found unconscious in his cell with a ligature around his neck, according to ICE. Despite CPR efforts, medical staff transferred him to Phoebe Sumter Hospital in Americus, where he was pronounced dead later that evening.
As the investigation into his death continues, Proceso reports that Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has raised concerns that consular staff were “not notified for interviews” during recent visits to the ICE facility and has requested an explanation from officials at the detention center.
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Molina-Veya’s death marks the second time a Mexican national has died while in ICE custody at the Stewart Detention Center, a facility that has recently come under scrutiny for poor living conditions, reports of abuse and allegations of medical negligence.
Just last month, another Mexican national, Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, died while being transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin.
And more generally:
According to ICE’s detainee death reporting data, Molina-Veya is the eighth person to die in ICE custody so far in 2025. The number of deaths reported in the first six months of this year represents 72% of all ICE custody deaths reported in 2024, raising alarm among immigrant rights advocates.
