A Mexican man died by an apparent suicide in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Ohio, the agency said in a statement Friday.
The death is the seventh to occur in ICE’s custody since the fiscal year began in October. Eight people died in ICE custody in all of fiscal year 2019.
David Hernandez Colula, 34, died early Thursday after being found unresponsive in his cell and taken to a local hospital, ICE said in a statement Friday morning. Attempts by emergency personnel and facility staff to revive him were unsuccessful, the agency said.
“ICE is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is undertaking a comprehensive agency-wide review of this incident, as it does in all such cases,” the agency said.
Hernandez Colula was put in ICE custody in December after an arrest for an outstanding warrant, the agency said. He had previously been apprehended by Border Patrol in 2014 in New York, the agency said.
ICE said consistent with its protocols, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, the Mexican consulate and Hernandez Colula’s family been notified about the death.
In December, Congress opened an investigation into the medical care provided to ICE detainees, following allegations of inadequate treatment detailed in a complaint from a whistleblower. The allegations, first reported by BuzzFeed News, detailed claims including two preventable surgeries and that inadequate medical care had contributed to several deaths.
