ICE detainee dies of COVID-19 complications in Columbus hospital
A 57-year-old Mexican man detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) died Saturday at a Columbus hospital from COVID-19 complications, the federal agency reports.
Felipe Montes was pronounced dead at 12:31 a.m. at Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital. He entered ICE custody on Dec. 28 and was held at the Stewart Detention Center in nearby Lumpkin before being admitted to the hospital on Jan. 10.
Hospital officials reported the preliminary cause of death as “cardiopulmonary arrest, secondary to complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19),” the agency said.
This is the fourth confirmed COVID-19 death among men held in ICE custody at Stewart Detention Center. A total of nine confirmed detainee deaths have been reported nationwide, and Montes’ death is the first reported in 2021, according to ICE’s COVID-19 data and death notification system.
A total of 474 detainees at Stewart have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic as of Jan. 27, according to federal data. Stewart Detention Center is privately-run by CoreCivic and is one of the largest in the nation.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 11:47 AM.