ICE detainee from NJ dies in custody in California
By: Hannan Adely
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... A 68-year-old man who spent more than two decades in the United States has died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prompting grief form his family and calls for accountability,
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Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, 68, a native of Honduras who lived in Union City, [NJ] died on January 6 [2026] in California, where he had been detain, ICE said. The agency said Yanez was admitted to a hospital for what it described as "heart-related health issues." He was the second person from New Jersey to die in ICE custody since December. [2025]
..... His death comes amid growing national concern over deaths in immigration detention, with advocates and lawmakers calling for improvements in oversight and medical care, and as there are anti-ICE protests across the nation, including in New Jersey, sparked by the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen, by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
..... Yanez left behind three children and six grandchildren. His daughter Josselyn Beltran of Houston, Texas, described her father as a hardworking man and a devoted grandfather who called his family daily, remembers his grandchildren's birthdays and sent gifts.
..... "As a father, he was an excellent dad," she said. "As a grandfather, the best grandfather of all. We hoped our father would get out of that place, that he would come out alive - not the of that place, that he would come out alive - not the was he did."
..... ICE said it detained Yanez on November 16 [2025] during a "targeted operation" in Newark [NJ] because he was in the country without legal permission.
..... Beltran said he was detained in Union city, [NJ] not Newark. [NJ]
He had just finished breakfast at McDonald's and stopped to greet friends who gathered at a bus stop to find work, she said. Then, ICE agents arrived and detained a few of the men, including Yanez.
.... According to ICE, Yanez entered the United Stated illegally in June 1993, was removed and returned. He applied multiple times for Temporary Protected Status - immigration status granted when a country is deemed unsafe for return - between 1999 and 2012, ICE reported. ICE said the applications were denied. His family said he previously had TPS but was unable to renew it.
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After holding him for about a week at Delaney Hall in Newark, [NJ] ICE transferred Yanez to the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California.
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In calls to his family, Yanez said he was dealing with stomach pains and shortness of breath. He was ill for weeks, Beltran said, but the staff gave him pills for pain "without knowing where the pain was coming from."
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On January 4, [2026] the detention facility admitted Yanez to its medical unit for an "evaluation of chest pain," ICE said in its statement. He was taken to a local hospital and later airlifted by helicopter to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio for a higher level of care.
..... "Despite medical intervention, Yanex was pronounced deceased in the early morning hours of January 6, [2026] ICE said.
..... Beltran did not know health his health had taken a sharp turn for the worse. She last spoke with her father on January 4. [2026] In the call, she said,
he told her, "Don't forget that I love you very much."
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Then she got a call at around noon on January 6 [2026] saying her father had died - about 11 hours after he was pronounced dead.
..... the family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to return his body to Honduras for burial. His funeral will take place in Texas, where Beltran lives with her family.
Four deaths in 2026
..... Beltran said her she wants answers and justice after what she believes was a lack of proper medical care.
..... "As a human being, he didn't deserve to be treated that way," she said.
..... ICE did not respond to a request for comment about Yanez's Management and Training Corporation, the private company that operates the detention center, said it was unable to comment about Yanez's care "out of respect for resident privacy." A spokesperson said the facility is committed to high standard of safety and medical care.
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"Our professionally trained medical staff - including licensed doctor and nurses - provide timely, compassionat4e care to all individuals in our custody," the spokesperson said. "We take every medical concern seriously and ensure that appropriate care and oversight are provided at all times."
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Yanez's death followed the December 12 [2026] death of Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian national. He died one day after he was detained at Delaney Hall in Newark. [NJ] His family said he was in good helaht before his detention, and ICE's own intake evaluation found no signs of medical distress. ICE said he died from "suspected natural causes," but the matter is pending investigation. His family has called for transparency and an independent investigation.
.....Deaths of immigrant detainees have grown amid the Trump administration's efforts to expand detention and deportation. More than 65,700 people were being held in ICE detention as of November 20, [2026] according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonpartisan research center at Syracuse University. Nearly 75% had no criminal convictions.
..... At least 30 people died in ICE custody in 2025, the highest level in two decades, agency figures showed.
..... ICE has reported four in-custody deaths so far in 2026. The other incidents involved another migrant from Honduras, one from Cuba and one from Cambodia, and took place between January 3 and 9, [2026] ICE said.