On December 14, 2025, Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, a 39-year-old Nicaraguan national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), died at Merit Health Natchez hospital in Mississippi after failing a test to determine brain function. According to ICE, medical staff removed Rodriguez from a ventilator at the request of his family.
Rodriguez had been detained at Adams County Detention Center. On December 4, 2025, medical staff responded to an emergency call when Rodriguez was found unresponsive and without a pulse. Staff performed life-saving measures before transferring him to the hospital where he later died.
Rodriguez entered the United States without inspection at an unknown time and place. He was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol near Menagers Dam Village, Arizona on June 9, 2018. After being determined inadmissible, he received a Notice and Order of Expedited Removal but was released on bond in July 2018.
On September 25, 2025, officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Denver arrested Rodriguez in Dillon, Colorado. In October 2025 he was ordered removed to Nicaragua after waiving his right to appeal. He was transferred from ERO Denver to ERO New Orleans for removal staging and booked into Adams County Detention Center pending removal scheduled for December 13.
ICE stated: "ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay. All illegal aliens in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility; access to medical appointments, and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during ICE detention is an alien denied emergent care."
The agency reported notifying the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Nicaraguan consulate as required by policy.
In line with agency protocol following an official report of a detainee death, notifications were also made to Congress, nongovernmental organizations stakeholders, and media outlets. Details are posted on the ICE public website.
Additionally, under requirements set by Congress in the DHS Appropriations Bill of 2018 all reports regarding deaths in ICE custody must be made public within ninety days; these can be found on the Detainee Death Reporting page.
