FILE PHOTO: The entrance to the Stewart Detention Center is pictured in Lumpkin, Georgia, U.S. February 21 , 2018. Picture taken February 21, 2018. REUTERS/Reade Levinson/File PhotoDenny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Cuban national, was found unresponsive at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, and later pronounced dead; ICE describes the death as a suspected suicide. Gonzalez’s immigration history included a 2019 port-of-entry arrival, a 2020 deportation, an unauthorized 2022 reentry and a January 2026 transfer to Stewart after an arrest in Charlotte. The death arrives amid a major expansion of ICE detentions and a recent rise in deaths in custody; ICE seeks to detain an average of 99,000 people in FY2026–27.A 33-year-old Cuban national, Denny Adan Gonzalez, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, on Tuesday and was pronounced dead less than an hour later, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a press release on Friday. Authorities described the death as a suspected suicide. ICE said Gonzalez first entered the United States at a Texas port of entry in May 2019, was deemed inadmissible and deported in January 2020. He later crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization in 2022 and was released under an order of supervision. Gonzalez was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office in Charlotte, North Carolina, on charges including assault on a female and domestic violence, then transferred to Stewart Detention Center in January 2026 after being taken into ICE custody. Facility Response and Ongoing Concerns Stewart Detention Center, operated by private operator CoreCivic and located near the rural town of Lumpkin, has long been criticized by immigrant advocates for its remote location, restrictive conditions and alleged shortcomings in medical care. Ryan Gustin, a CoreCivic spokesperson, said medical staff responded promptly and began lifesaving measures after Gonzalez was discovered. FILE PHOTO: The badge of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is embroidered on a polo shirt of an ICE employee in Arlington, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber/File Photo “We are deeply saddened by and take very seriously the passing of any individual in our care,” Gustin said in a statement. Broader Context The death comes amid a marked expansion of ICE detention under the current administration. ICE’s detained population rose from roughly 40,000 when President Donald Trump took office in 2025 to about 60,000, and agency documents show plans for further increases this year. Deaths in ICE custody reached a two-decade high last year, and the agency reported 18 deaths in the first four months of the current year — a pace that would surpass last year’s total if it continues. Congress in 2025 approved a Republican-backed spending package that funds ICE detention expansion through September 2029. In budget materials released in April, ICE said it aims to detain an average of about 99,000 immigrants in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Local and federal authorities are investigating Gonzalez’s death. ICE did not immediately provide additional comment beyond its initial release.Help us improve.