Jordanian man held at Krome dies while in ICE detention in South Florida

A 67-year-old man from Jordan slated for deportation has died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in South Florida.

Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh had been detained at the Krome Detention Center in southwest Miami-Dade County before he was taken to Larkin Community Hospital for a fever on Oct. 10, according to ICE. The next day, hospital staff found him unresponsive, ICE said, and were able to revive him with CPR. However, his heart stopped again and he died on Oct. 11 despite medical efforts to stabilize him. His preliminary cause of death has been ruled as a cardiac arrest.

Saleh is the sixth person to die in ICE custody in Florida this year. ICE reported he had several chronic conditions including high blood pressure, heart and kidney diseases, as well as diabetes.

ICE has reported at least 20 deaths in its custody nationwide since January, 30% of which have been in Florida. That tally does not include two detained men who died during a shooting in an ICE field office in Dallas. According to American Immigration Counsel, a non-profit group, more people have now died ICE custody in 2025 than in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.

Saleh came to the United States in March 1994 and became a green-card holder in July 1994. The same month he received permanent residency, Saleh pleaded no contest to welfare fraud charges and was sentenced to six months’ probation, according to public records.

Decades later, in 2017, the Justice Department charged Saleh and a dozen others as part of a scheme that exchanged food stamp benefits for cash. Saleh managed a convenience store in Fort Lauderdale. Federal court records show that in March 2018, a federal judge in South Florida ordered him to pay about $450,000 in restitution and sentenced him to two years in prison and three years of released supervision.

Court documents also show that one of the conditions for his release was surrendering to immigration for deportation after his imprisonment. An immigration judge ordered him deported in February 2020. Four months later, ICE placed him on an order of supervision which required him to check in with the agency in person. In September 2025, ICE took Saleh into custody to carry out the deportation order.

“ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its 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 a statement.

READ MORE: A Cuban dad did time for a marijuana bust 40 years ago. He died in ICE custody Thursday.

Others who have died in ICE custody in South Florida this year include Isidro Perez, a 75-year-old Cuban man who spent almost 60y years inthe U.S.; Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian man; and Marie Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman who collapsed and died at Broward Transitional Center.

READ MORE: Two men in ICE custody died of ‘natural’ causes. Were their deaths preventable?

The Miami Herald reported on two other deaths in Florida early this year, Maksym Chernyak and Genry Ruiz Guillen. While the Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s office ruled that they died of natural causes, the Herald found evidence of substandard or delayed care in their medical treatments.

This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM.