The ICE custody death at Adelanto Detention Center is raising urgent questions about medical care, federal oversight, and the treatment of immigrants in California facilities.
A Westlake man has died while in ICE custody at the Adelanto Detention Center in the High Desert, according to Los Angeles Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez.
Hernandez identified the deceased as , a 48-year-old Mexican national. She alleges that he died after being denied medical care while detained.
“This is the ninth known death in ICE custody this year,” her office wrote in a Facebook post shared Saturday. “The Trump administration does not value human life. They are using our federal tax dollars to bankroll detention and a deadly deportation machine instead of funding healthcare, food, housing, education, and the systems that actually keep people alive.”
Gutiérrez Reyes’ family says they have not received a death certificate and do not know the whereabouts of his body.
“He was a good father, a good son, a good husband, and he didn’t deserve to die like this,” said his wife, Patricia Martínez. She said the family was given only a bag containing his personal belongings, including the clothes he was wearing at the time of his arrest.
Originally from Veracruz, Mexico, Gutiérrez Reyes had lived in the United States since 2001. According to his family, he was detained by federal immigration agents in the Echo Park neighborhood last January and transferred to the Adelanto facility.
While in custody, relatives say he began experiencing serious health issues, including fever, chest pain, and episodes of intense cold at night. They claim he repeatedly requested medical attention but was denied care.
Patricia Martínez said she last spoke with her husband on February 24, after an immigration judge granted him bail. About 24 hours later, she received a call from the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino informing her of his death.
“I didn’t hear from him again until Friday, when the Mexican Consulate called to tell me my husband had died,” she said. “We don’t even know where they have him. We haven’t seen his body. They aren’t telling us anything.”
In a statement, Mexico’s Office of Foreign Affairs said it would demand “an immediate and thorough investigation into the conditions that led to the deaths of Mexican nationals in the custody of this authority, in order to determine responsibility and ensure that such events do not recur.”
