KGUN 9NewsNational News

Actions

A 30-year-old Honduran man died in ICE custody. He's the 11th person to die in US custody since September

Posted
and last updated

A 30-year-old Honduran man died in ICE custody Sunday in a hospital in Humble, Texas, the agency said.

Yimi Alexis Balderramos-Torres entered ICE custody on June 6 and less than two weeks later was transferred to the Houston Contract Detention Facility in Houston, Texas.

On June 30, he was found unresponsive in his dormitory and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, ICE said.

Balderramos-Torres is the sixth detainee to die in ICE custody since October 1, 2018, the agency said. He is at least the 11th person to die in US custody since September.

Balderramos-Torres entered the US illegally on May 27 and was placed in ICE custody on June 6 after a "routine traffic stop" with local law enforcement, ICE said.

He had previously tried to enter the country ten days earlier and was returned to Mexico after encountering Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, ICE said.

Balderramos-Torres also tried to enter the US in August 2013. He was removed to Honduras that same month, according to the agency.

"Consistent with the agency's protocols, the appropriate state health and local law enforcement agencies have been notified about this death, as have the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, and ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility," ICE said.

The Consulate of Honduras in Houston has also been notified and Honduran consular officials have notified Balderramos-Torres' next of kin, the agency said.

Other detainees to die in ICE custody since November include a 58-year-old Cuban man; two Russian nationals, a 40-year-old man and a 56-year-old man; a 54-year-old Mexican man; and a 21-year-old Indian national. A 25-year-old Salvadoran transgender woman, Jonathan Alberto "Johana" Medina Leon, also died in the agency's custody in early June.

11 migrants died in US custody in 10 months

Medina Leon is among the at least 11 migrants -- including Balderramos-Torres -- who have died in US custody since September.

She was taken into ICE custody in April after encountering immigration officials while trying to enter the US.

On May 28, Medina Leon requested to be tested for HIV and tested positive and was transferred to an El Paso hospital where she died on June 1, ICE said.

Two other undocumented migrants died after being apprehended at the US-Mexico border in early June.

A 40-year-old Honduran woman who had been apprehended June 3 near Eagle Pass, Texas, died in Customs and Border Protection custody. The woman collapsed about 25 minutes after being taken into custody and was later transported to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, the agency said.

Earlier that day, CBP announced the death of a 33-year-old Salvadoran man who appeared to seize after being apprehended on June 2.

In May, 16-year-old Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez was apprehended and processed near Hidalgo, Texas. He was transferred to the Weslaco Border Patrol Station where he was found unresponsive a day later, CBP said. The cause of death is unknown.

A month earlier, Guatemalan teen Juan de León Gutiérrez died in a Texas children's hospital days after being taken to a shelter for unaccompanied minors. The cause of his death hasn't been reported. A source close to the situation said at the time that the youth had shown signs of distress the day after he arrived in Brownsville, Texas.

A 40-year-old Mexican migrant died in March while in CBP custody, according to an agency news release. CBP said the man was evaluated by medical personnel hours after being apprehended and transported to a medical center after being diagnosed with flu-like sypmtoms, liver failure and renal failure. He died the same day.

A 45-year-old Mexican man died a month earlier after being apprehended by border patrol agents in the Rio Grand Valley. He died after being transferred to a hospital.

In December, two children died weeks apart while in US custody.

Jakelin Caal Maquin, 7, died of sepsis, a bacterial infection, in an El Paso hospital, days after being detained with her father.

On Christmas Eve, 8-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo died of Influenza B complicated by a staph bacteria infection that led to sepsis, the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry said. He was in CBP custody with his father.

In September, a 10-year-old girl died in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement. Her death was not reported publicly for nearly eight months. An HHS spokesman at the time told CNN the girl had a history of congenital heart defects.

The child had surgery complications that left her in a comatose state, the spokesman told CNN. She was transported to a nursing facility in Phoenix and later transported to Children's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, where she died due to fever and respiratory distress on September 29.

In addition to the 11 migrants who have died in US custody, a 2-year-old boy from Guatemala also died in May at an El Paso hospital. The boy had suffered from complications of pneumonia, and was not identified and not in US custody at the time of his death, Tekandi Paniagua, the Guatemalan consul general in Del Rio, Texas, told CNN. He had previously been in US custody.