PoliticsICE Detainee Dies From Reported Suicide Amid Hunger Strike in Georgia Facility: 'This Was a Preventable Tragedy,' Says Advocacy Director
A man has died by apparent suicide at an ICE facility where inmates are engaging in a hunger strike.
Oct. 26 2026, Published 4:19 p.m. ET
A man in a Georgia ICE facility where detainees are engaging in a hunger strike to protest their poor treatment has died.
Luis Sandoval, 48, allegedly committed suicide in Folkston, Georgia's D Ray James facility. He was found on October 23 with a ligature around his neck and was pronounced dead that morning.
'A Preventable Tragedy'
A still from the video made by striking detainees.
Sandoval is the 60th person to die in ICE custody. He was arrested by ICE on October 8 and had been in the facility for only two weeks before his death.
It is unknown if he was participating in the hunger strike, which had been going on since before Sandoval entered the facility.
“This was a preventable tragedy,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, the legal and advocacy director for Georga-based social justice organization Project South. "We hold ICE and the private prison corporation fully responsible for any harm that migrants suffer at Folkston. We call for an immediate independent investigation into this tragic death and for accountability. Folkston must be shut down immediately.”
Politicians Demand Accountability
Jon Ossoff was among the politicians calling for an investigation into the facility.
Sandoval's death stirred politicians to condemn ICE and the Folkston facility.
“Today I received notification of the 60th death in ICE custody since Trump returned to office. Sadly, this appears to be a death by suicide,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington wrote on X. “When our country detains people, we have the responsibility of ensuring both their physical and mental health — not driving them, though incredible cruelty, to commit suicide. Dismantle ICE.”
Georgia Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock also wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding an "immediate investigation" into the facility.
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It's Unclear If Sandoval Was Engaged in the Hunger Strike
ICE protests continue throughout the United States.
Sandoval's death comes amid allegations from inmates that guards have taken to violently force feeding striking inmates.
When the inmates announced their hunger strike in early October, every striker said they had been held at the facility for over a year, and in some cases longer, as there has been no progress in their asylum and immigration cases.
They further alleged substandard medical care, threats from guards, moldy food and a lack of due process.
Tom Homan Boasted About 'Highest Standard of Care'
Tom Homan said ICE takes care of detainees.
The death comes just weeks after Border Czar Tom Homan claimed ICE had best-in-industry medical care as he was pressed about the soaring amount of deaths in ICE custody.
"Our deaths in custody … are among the lowest of any state prison or Bureau of Prisons," he complained to CBS. "No one ever talks about how many lives that ICE saves in detention when they found a serious medical issue that the alien didn’t even know about and we treat."
The amount of deaths in ICE custody in two years of Donald Trump's administration has already doubled the amount of deaths in four years under Joe Biden. Though this is partially explained by the increased amount of detainees, the rate of deaths per detainee has also skyrocketed.
