Folkston ICE Detainee Death: What ICE Must Disclose Next

A Salvadoran man held at ICE’s Folkston, Georgia, detention center died Oct. 23, a day after Georgia’s two senators asked for an investigation into medical care there. ICE says an autopsy will determine the cause.

A Folkston ICE detainee death announced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 24 has put new scrutiny on the south Georgia detention center where hundreds of detainees began a hunger strike this month. Luis Sandoval, 48, a Salvadoran national, was found with a ligature around his neck at about 1:46 a.m. on Oct. 23 and was pronounced dead at about 2:28 a.m., according to ICE’s statement as reported by Telemundo and The Current. He had been in ICE custody for three weeks and had not yet appeared before an immigration judge.

On Oct. 22, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both Georgia Democrats, wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the DHS inspector general and GEO Group chief executive J. David Donahue seeking an immediate investigation into what they described as medical neglect and retaliation against hunger strikers at the facility, The Current reported. ICE’s statement did not say whether Sandoval took part in the strike, and nothing made public so far connects his death to it. The death turns the senators’ general questions about care at Folkston into a specific case that ICE’s own review process now has to document.

According to ICE, Sandoval entered the United States without inspection at an unknown date and place. The agency’s Newark office arrested him on Oct. 2 and served him with a notice to appear, and he was transferred to Folkston on Oct. 8 to await his first removal hearing. ICE lists prior convictions for aggravated assault, terroristic threats, receiving stolen property and theft. The agency said it notified the DHS inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility, and it says every detainee receives medical, dental and mental health screening within 12 hours of arrival, a full health assessment within 14 days and around-the-clock emergency care.

What ICE must disclose about a Folkston ICE detainee death

ICE policy calls for a public news release within two business days of a death in custody, which the Saturday announcement met. A 2018 DHS appropriations requirement then obliges the agency to make its in-custody death report public within 90 days. Counting from Oct. 23, that deadline falls around Jan. 21, 2027.

The more consequential document is the Office of Professional Responsibility review, which assesses whether staff followed ICE’s detention standards. Its suicide-prevention rules govern screening and monitoring of detainees at risk of self-harm. Its hunger-strike standard treats anyone not seen eating for 72 hours as on hunger strike, requires a medical referral, and states that ICE’s policy is to seek a court order before any involuntary treatment. Once this threshold is crossed, the individual is moved to medical isolation where staff monitor their vital signs and continue to deliver meals. If the detainee persists and medical personnel determine their health is in imminent danger, ICE cannot immediately force them to eat. Instead, government attorneys must petition a federal judge to secure an emergency court order authorizing involuntary medical procedures. These legal proceedings often occur rapidly, sometimes without the detainee having access to legal counsel to argue their case.

Based on publicly available information looks like If the judge grants the order, detention guards physically restrain the individual to prevent them from moving. Medical staff then lubricate and forcibly insert a plastic nasogastric tube through the nostril and down into the stomach. Liquid nutritional formulas are pumped through the tube to provide sustenance against the individual’s will. The process may also involve forced intravenous hydration or involuntary blood draws depending on the specific judicial order. While authorities view this as a life-preserving measure, international human rights groups and medical associations condemn it as a form of torture.

Folkston, which GEO operates under an ICE contract, has a history that will shape how that review is read. Sandoval is the second person to die in custody there; an ICE review of the April 2024 death of Jaspal Singh found the facility’s medical care contributed, The Current reported. A 2024 contract to consolidate Folkston with the neighboring D. Ray James site called for 3,000 beds, which would make it the country’s largest immigration detention center. The hunger strike began Oct. 6, with detainees protesting conditions and prolonged detention without a bond hearing. Advocates put participation at about 500 at its peak, while ICE said on Oct. 16 that 13 people were still refusing food, WABE reported.

The national numbers explain why each new death draws attention. ICE recorded 31 deaths in custody in calendar 2025, a two-decade high just short of the 2004 record of 32, CBS News reported in May. Nearly 60 people have died in ICE custody since January 2025, according to ICE data compiled by Telemundo. Sandoval died six days after a green card holder died at ICE’s Laredo processing center. The detained population has also grown; CBS News reported it was higher in April than under any prior administration, and TRAC at Syracuse University counted 65,765 people in ICE detention as of July 11, 2026, 70.6 percent of them with no criminal conviction.

What to watch:

The autopsy’s finding on the cause and manner of death.
Any response from DHS, its inspector general or GEO to the Oct. 22 letter, including whether an unannounced inspection is ordered.
Whether ICE seeks a court order for involuntary treatment if the hunger strike continues.
ICE’s public death report, due within 90 days, or around Jan. 21, 2027.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice.

Sources

Vasanth Vaidyanathan, Esq.

Administrator

Vasanth Vaidyanathan is an immigration attorney with over 20 years of experience focused exclusively on U.S. immigration and nationality law. He holds a LL.M. from California Western School of Law, San Deigo and advises individuals and businesses on employment and family-based immigration matters, including H-1B, PERM, EB categories, and adjustment of status. He has also been a featured speaker at immigration seminars across the U.S. To reach Vasanth visit: https://www.vnathan.com/

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