A Southern California immigration detention center faces renewed scrutiny after federal officials confirmed the death of a detainee last week, marking the fourth fatality since September and contributing to what is becoming one of the deadliest years on record for people in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano, 52, who was being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, died on March 25. He and the other three people who died were Mexican nationals, prompting the Mexican government to demand an immediate review of the facility, pointing to “serious omissions and evident deficiencies” in medical care.Mexican officials said during a news conference Monday afternoon that they plan to take legal action and expressed unfettered support for the families of the Mexican citizens who have died in ICE custody.Sitting in front of news cameras and reporters, Ramos-Solano's wife, son and daughter sat quietly, occasionally wiping at their eyes or reaching for one another as Mexican officials offered their condolences.Antonia Tovar said her husband had emigrated from Guanajuato to the U.S more than 28 years ago and worked at an industrial laundromat.“My husband was a good person, dedicated to his kids and to his wife,” she said. “I just want justice and to fight for the people who are there. I want my husband’s case to be the last one.”Tovar said she talked to her husband about four hours before he was rushed to the hospital where he died. She said he told her he was fine and didn't say he felt unwell.Her daughter, Gloria Ramos, said the family wants answers."I think my family and I deserve to know the truth of what happened to my dad. I want justice for my dad."ICE said in a statement that Ramos-Solano received consistent medical care during his detention, noting he had been diagnosed with diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension upon intake in February and was treated daily for those conditions.The statement said the agency was “committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments.”Ramos-Solano's death raises the nationwide death toll in ICE custody in the last three months to 14.The figures reflect a sharp increase compared with recent years. In 2025, 33 people died in ICE custody, according to agency data, compared with 11 in 2024, seven in 2023, three in 2022 and five in 2021.A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said there's been no spike in deaths and maintained that the death rates in custody remain low. "As bed space has rapidly expanded, we have maintained higher a standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens — including providing access to proper medical care."But Ramos-Solano’s death has intensified concerns about conditions at the Adelanto facility, which is already the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit alleging widespread abuse. Detainees claim they have been subjected to mold, disease, inadequate food and water, and systemic medical neglect.Mexican government officials said they plan to file an amicus brief in support of that lawsuit and send letters to U.S. lawmakers regarding the poor medical care at the Adelanto facility.Carlos González Gutiérrez, the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles, expressed concerns about outsourcing of immigration detention to private companies.“These companies may be private, for profit corporations, but to the extent that they represent public authority, they are responsible for meeting the medical needs and adequate food requirements of each individual under their custody,” he said. "Each death represents a human tragedy."Vanessa Calva Ruiz, the director general of consular protection and strategic planning, said the recent death "is not an isolated case, but rather a reflection of an alarming and unacceptable trend."Immigrant advocates say the number of people dying in ICE custody underscores those claims.Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said her organization received a hotline call from a witness who reported seeing Ramos-Solano struggling to breathe and in visible distress. The caller alleged there was a delay in providing medical assistance.“We’re on track now to have the deadliest year in ICE history for people detained in their custody,” she said. “Given the conditions and the level of medical negligence we are already challenging in court, this should not come as a surprise.”Ramos-Solano was arrested during a targeted law enforcement operation in Torrance on Feb. 23, according to the ICE statement. The agency said he was convicted last year of possession of a controlled substance and theft.On March 25, ICE said staff found Ramos-Solano unresponsive in his bunk and immediately initiated lifesaving measures, including CPR, while calling emergency services. He was transported to a hospital in Victorville, where he died at 9:29 p.m., according to ICE. The official cause of death has not yet been determined.GEO Group Inc., the private contractor that operates the Adelanto facility, declined to comment, referring inquiries to ICE.The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for the probe when it learned of Ramos-Solano's death.Officials said in a statement that the consulate in San Bernardino said it contacted Ramos-Solano's family to provide assistance and support. They said they are also in communication with authorities to ascertain the cause of death, obtain the complete medical record and review the circumstances surrounding the death."The Government of Mexico will exhaust all legal and diplomatic avenues to raise awareness of the current problem and address this case, reiterating its commitment to ensuring the protection and dignity of Mexican citizens abroad," the statement from the ministry read.During a news conference last week, Roberto Velasco Álvarez, the top North American official in Mexico's Foreign Affairs Ministry, said 13 Mexican nationals have died either during immigration operations or while in immigration detention.Government officials said four of those have been in California, according to the Mexican government. The ages of the people who have died were between 19 and 69.Of the 13, Mexican officials said six died of medical complications, four from suicide, two during ICE operations and one in the shooting at the detention center in Dallas.In Adelanto, the three others who died were Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old former DACA recipient who had been held in Adelanto for nearly a month before his death in September; Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, 56, who lived near Costa Mesa and died Oct. 23, about a week after being detained; and Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, 48, who died on Feb. 27.Jesus Eduardo Arias, a lawyer representing Ramos-Solano's family, said lawsuits have been filed on behalf of two other families. He said they are conducting a private, forensic investigation to determine Ramos-Solano's cause of death.“This family as well as all the families of people detained in Adelanto deserve answers," he said. “The family and all the families deserve a response."Velasco referred to the deaths as "absolutely painful, heartbreaking, and of course, also absolutely unacceptable to the Mexican government."President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has presented her administration as defender of the millions of Mexican nationals living in the U.S., has consistently denounced President Trump's large-scale deportations and immigration raids.As Trump took office, her administration launched a program — "Mexico te abraza" (Mexico hugs you) — to receive deported Mexican citizens along the border, provide them with temporary housing, healthcare, a cash stipend and travel vouchers to pay for trips back to their home areas.Sheinbaum has vowed to bolster consular protections in the United States, where Mexico's more than 50 consular offices represent the largest foreign consular network in the country.Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell contributed to this report.Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.