ICE Reports Death of Salvadoran Detainee at Folkston Processing Center in Georgia
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainee death notification on October 24: Luis Sandoval, a 48-year-old Salvadoran national, died on October 23 while in ICE custody at the Folkston D. Ray ICE Processing Center in Folkston, Georgia.
According to ICE, at approximately 1:46 a.m. on October 23, facility staff found Sandoval with a ligature around his neck and immediately began life-saving measures. Charlton County Emergency Medical Services arrived and provided additional measures, but Sandoval was pronounced dead at approximately 2:28 a.m. ICE said his death is under investigation and an autopsy will be conducted to determine the official cause and manner of death.
ICE said Sandoval entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location without being admitted, inspected or paroled by an immigration officer. On October 2, 2026, he was arrested by ICE Newark and issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge. He arrived at Folkston on October 8 pending his first removal hearing.
The criminal history listed in the notification includes convictions for aggravated assault, making terroristic threats, receiving stolen property, and theft by unlawful taking, as well as a charge for drug possession. ICE did not state the outcome of the drug possession charge.
ICE said Enforcement and Removal Operations has completed all required notifications to the Department of Homeland Security, the ICE Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility via the Joint Intake Operation Center. ICE said it makes official notifications to Congress, non-governmental organization stakeholders and the media upon reports of in-custody deaths and posts news releases with relevant details on its public website, with information available in the ICE Newsroom and on the Detainee Death Reporting page.
Source: GSM · USA
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：移民执法局 ICE 执法与递解行动处人员执行定点执法行动（资料图，Chicago，2025年1月，非 Folkston 现场、与本案当事人无关）。美国移民执法局 ICE 官方图，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers during a targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, January 2025 (file photo, not the Folkston facility and not the person in this report). U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
