Former DACA recipient dies in ICE custody day after going to CA hospital, feds say

A 39-year-old man from Mexico died in ICE custody the day after going to a California hospital, federal officials said.

Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a former DACA recipient, was arrested by U.S. Customs Border Patrol agents on Aug. 17 and was transferred to a facility in Adelanto five days later, according to a Sept. 23 news release by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ayala-Uribe came to the United States at age 4, CBS News reported, before getting his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status in 2012, officials said.

He tried to renew his status in 2016 but was denied for reasons unspecified in the release.

McClatchy News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to get more information on his DACA rejection on Sept. 24 and was awaiting a response.

On Sept. 18, Ayala-Uribe was returned to his dormitory after receiving medication during an on-call evaluation by medical officials, officers said.

Three days later, he was sent to the Victory Valley Global Medical Center for a surgery on an abscess on his buttocks, officials said.

He had high blood pressure and an abnormally fast heart beat, officials said. He was pronounced dead Sept. 22.

“Saturday was the last time I visited him,” Ayala-Uribe’s mom, Lucia Ayala, told CBS News. “He looked very pale and his hands appeared red.”

His cause of death is under investigation, officials said.

ICE said detainees get a medical, dental and mental health screening within 12 hours of arriving at a detention facility and receive a full health assessment within 14 days of entering its custody.

“ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments,” officials said in release.

DACA was implemented in 2012 during the Obama administration, allowing for young people who came to the United States without documentation to not be deported, according to the Obama Foundation.

In 2023, over 500,000 people were in the United States under DACA, according to a report by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

By the end of the year, President Donald Trump is on track to deport nearly 600,000 undocumented people, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Two million undocumented people have left the states within the last 250 days, including 1.6 million who have self-deported, DHS officials said.

Ayala-Uribe worked at a Los Angeles car wash for 15 years and was “loved by his family, friends, and his long-time car wash clients,” his mom told CBS News.

Ayala-Uribe’s death marks the 14th of a person in ICE custody since January, according to ICE’s detainee death report.

Adelanto is about a 90-mile drive northeast from downtown Los Angeles.

This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Former DACA recipient dies in ICE custody day after going to CA hospital, feds say."