Royer Perez-Jimenez, a 19-year-old immigrant from Mexico, died of presumed suicide at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven on March 16, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The death occurred at 2:51 a.m., 17 minutes after a detention officer found Perez-Jimenez unconscious and unresponsive at 2:34 a.m. ICE said the official cause of death remains under investigation.
“He denied any behavioral health issues or concerns and answered ’no’ to all suicide screening questions,” ICE stated regarding Perez-Jimenez’s intake screening when he arrived at the facility on Feb. 26. Officers immediately called a medical emergency in the dormitory and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation after finding him unresponsive. Two medical personnel arrived minutes later and determined Perez-Jimenez had no pulse before fire rescue deputies initiated life-sustaining interventions.
“Immigration detention system deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones, and subjects people to abysmal conditions,” said Carly Pérez Fernández, communications director at Detention Watch Network, a national coalition advocating against immigrant detention. The death marks the 46th reported under ICE custody since President Donald Trump’s administration began in January 2025, according to The Associated Press’ count. Perez-Jimenez is the youngest detainee to die in ICE custody since the beginning of Trump’s second term.
Perez-Jimenez was arrested on Jan. 22 by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and charged with fraud for impersonation as well as resisting an officer, according to ICE. The federal agency took custody on Feb. 21 after placing an immigration detainer when he was initially arrested. ICE said Perez-Jimenez entered the United States on Feb. 19, 2022, when Border Patrol encountered him and granted a voluntary return to Mexico the same day, but he illegally reentered the country at an unknown date.
The Glades County Detention Center, located 55 miles northeast of Fort Myers, was shut down during President Joe Biden’s administration and reopened under the Trump administration. So far in 2026, 13 immigrant deaths in ICE custody have been reported by the federal agency nationwide. In Florida, Perez-Jimenez is the second immigrant to die while detained this year, compared to 32 deaths reported by ICE nationwide in 2025 and six in Florida.
“ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in 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,” ICE said in its statement. The Mexican consulate has been notified of Perez-Jimenez’s death. Florida houses some of the most well-known immigrant detention centers, including the South Florida Detention Facility and Krome North Service Processing Center, where detainees have reported finding worms in food, non-functioning toilets and overflowing sewage.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office told reporters that Perez-Jimenez’s arrest was an Edgewater Police Department case, though the AP requested the arrest report and was told Perez-Jimenez does not appear in the sheriff’s office system. Prolonged detention has become more common during Trump’s current term due to a new policy that generally prohibits immigration judges from releasing detainees while their deportation cases proceed through overburdened courts. The Office of The District 21 Medical Examiner has not responded to requests for the autopsy report.