Seventh Immigrant Dies in ICE Custody This Year
Lorth Sim, a Cambodian national, died in ICE custody on Monday, the seventh since the start of the year and nearly the 40th since Trump took office. ICE has not updated its website to reflect this latest detainee death as of the time of this writing. The text of ICE’s notification is provided below. I will add updates here as more details come to light.
Update on February 19, 2026: ICE has since published its official press release. You can read it here: Convicted alien felon passes away at Indiana hospital
The death occurred at the Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana. Notably, I had just written about this facility in our latest update to DetentionReports.com because it was one of the facilities with significant growth in population despite an overall slight decline in the national detained population.
See more here: https://detentionreports.com/facility/MIAMI_CORRECTIONAL_CENTER.html
Full Text of ICE’s Announcement
Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old convicted felon from Cambodia, died in ICE custody Feb. 16 at Miami Correctional Facility in Miami County, Indiana. He was pronounced dead at 7:10 a.m. after staff found him unresponsive in his cell. Despite lifesaving efforts by facility staff and EMS, Sim died. The cause of death is under investigation.
On Dec. 30, 2025, ICE officers encountered Sim at the ICE office lobby in Boston. ICE informed him he was under arrest and would be detained in ICE custody pursuant to a warrant of removal. On Jan. 5, 2026, ICE Chicago accepted the transfer of Mr. Sim after being arrested and detained in Boston.
Sim entered the United States as a refugee in 1983 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1986. He was arrested for disorderly conduct in 1989, indecent exposure in 1996, and larceny in 2005, receiving a suspended sentence and probation but no prison time. In 2006, ICE arrested him, and an immigration judge ordered his removal to Cambodia.
ICE notified the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Cambodian consulate about Sim’s death, as required by agency policy.
ICE makes official notifications to Congress, nongovernmental organization stakeholders, and the media upon an official report of a detained illegal alien’s death, and per agency policy, posts a news release with relevant details on the ICE public website within two business days. This information may be accessed in the ICE.gov Newsroom. Additionally, congressional requirements described in the DHS Appropriations Bill of 2018 require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days. These reports may be accessed on the Detainee Death Reporting page.
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. All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility; access to medical appointments, and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during ICE detention is an alien denied emergent care.
Reports of in-custody deaths are posted on the ICE website within two business days, and additional details are made public within 90 days.
Does anyone believe the stuff about timely medical care, timely processing, the implied well-oiled machine of mass detention? It’s barely a year and these people have not one remaining shred of credibility.
That we know of.😢