Dual American Mexican Citizen Dies Under ICE Custody in Private Prison

ByJay Watts

Mexico’s Consulate General in Atlanta has released a press statement on the death of a dual Mexican-American in ICE Custody. The unidentified man died in ICE custody today at the Robert A Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy, Georgia.

The detention facility is privately owned and operated by the Geo Group, one of the largest prison corporations in the world. Geo Group was facing significant financial difficulties when the US Department of Justice announced in August of 2016 that it was phasing out the use of private prisons, but made a shrewd political bet on Donald Trump’s campaign, support it through significant SuperPAC donations. The bet paid off in 2017 when Donald Trump awarded the contract for the first of his (many) immigration detention centers.

Shirsho Dasgupta wrote in a 2025 article in the Miami Herald that “few companies have made a bigger killing from the administration’s turbocharged efforts to detain and deport undocumented migrants” than GEO Group, which operates around 24 detention sites across the United States.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry say they are “addressing the case promptly and maintaining direct contact with the authorities responsible for the investigation in order to learn the results,” and the Consulate General “has established communication with the family of the Mexican national in order to provide the necessary consular assistance.”

The Consulate General also requested clarification on the circumstances surrounding his death and will eb monitoring the investiation to ensure it is conduct promptly and transparently.

The unidentified man is the fifth person to die in ICE custody since the beginning of this year.