Mexico seeks answers after, it says, a Mexican citizen died in ICE custody in Georgia

Mexican authorities sought details Thursday about what they say was the death of a Mexican citizen this week in an immigration detention facility in Georgia.

The number of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the U.S. has increased significantly in recent years, and 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detainees in two decades, with at least 30 people dying in detention centers.

At least four people have died in ICE detention so far this year, according to agency data.

On Thursday, Mexico’s consulate in Atlanta said it was “closely monitoring” the death of a Mexican citizen on Wednesday at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Clayton, south of Atlanta, and was maintaining “permanent communication” with the ICE field office in Atlanta.

Officials requested “that the circumstances of the incident be clarified,” the consulate said, adding that it was “collaborating on the necessary procedures to ensure that the investigation is conducted promptly and transparently.”

The consulate didn’t release the person’s name but said it planned to return the person’s remains to Mexico as soon as possible.

CBS News reached out to ICE and the consulate for comment. U.S. officials haven’t publicly commented on the incident.

ICE has been at the forefront of President Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

More than 68,000 adults were in ICE detention as of the end of December, compared with about 36,000 in December 2023, agency data shows.

The agency has come under intense public scrutiny in recent days following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an immigration officer in Minneapolis on January 7, sparking protests across the U.S.