ICE Custody Death: Van Hollen Questions Hospital Delay

An ICE custody death in Louisiana is now the subject of a formal inquiry from Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. In a letter reported by CBS News Baltimore on Nov. 5, Van Hollen demanded records on how Julian Curo-Churata, a 47-year-old Peruvian man who had lived in Laurel, Md., for about 17 years, died after hospital records showed he arrived for emergency care more than two hours after the time ICE says he was taken there.

The timeline is the core of the dispute. According to the letter as reported by CBS Baltimore, officers at Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana described Curo-Churata as “lethargic and unresponsive throughout the day” on Sept. 28. ICE has said he was taken to Ochsner LSU Health Monroe Medical Center at about 8:14 p.m. Hospital records cited by Van Hollen show an arrival time of 10:26 p.m., a gap of 2 hours and 12 minutes for a trip the senator put at about seven minutes by car. Curo-Churata was pronounced dead at 4:01 a.m. on Sept. 29. Van Hollen’s letter gives the cause as cardiac arrest due to septic shock.

That gap is a factual question with a documentary answer, and in septic shock, time to treatment counts, so those hours will draw the closest scrutiny. ICE’s position is that Curo-Churata “received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals,” and that “at no time during detention is a detained noncitizen denied emergency care,” according to statements the agency gave CBS Baltimore after his death. ICE had not responded to the letter, CBS reported.

From a Maryland arrest to a Louisiana jail

ICE’s Baltimore field office arrested Curo-Churata on June 27 in what the agency called a targeted enforcement operation and transferred him to the New Orleans field office two days later, Fox 5 DC reported, citing ICE. The agency’s statement pointed to convictions for driving with an expired vehicle registration and a civil judgment in favor of the Maryland comptroller. On Sept. 18, an immigration judge denied his applications for relief from removal and for voluntary departure, and he reserved his right to appeal, according to ICE’s account reported by CBS Baltimore. Ten days later he was found in medical distress.

The Washington Post reported on Oct. 30 that his widow, Verónica Ramírez, could face deportation after speaking publicly about his death, and the Post reported on Nov. 5 that Van Hollen’s inquiry also covers actions taken against her. ICE has said it notified his spouse, his lawyer, the Peruvian consulate and the DHS Office of Inspector General of the death.

What the ICE custody death records could settle

Van Hollen asked for all video footage of Curo-Churata from Sept. 27 to 29, records of when and how staff learned he was ill, any internal reviews, mortality reviews or after-action reports, and confirmation of whether records went to the inspector general, the ICE Health Service Corps or a medical examiner. He also called for a full independent investigation. “His death is unacceptable and both his family and the American people deserve answers as to how this could occur on your watch,” he wrote, according to CBS Baltimore.

Camera footage and notification logs are the records most likely to resolve the discrepancy. They would show whether 8:14 p.m. marks a departure, a call for transport or something else, and whether anyone flagged his condition earlier in the day. A second clock is already running: ICE’s detainee death reporting page says congressional requirements oblige the agency to publish a report on each in-custody death within 90 days. For a death on Sept. 29, that points to about Dec. 28.

At least 37 people died in ICE detention in fiscal 2026, which ended Sept. 30, according to ICE’s count as cited by CBS Baltimore and NBC4 Washington. More deaths have followed in the new fiscal year, including at ICE’s Laredo processing center and at Otay Mesa in San Diego, and senators had already sought an investigation before a death at Folkston, Georgia.

A senator’s letter carries no subpoena power, so the practical test is whether ICE produces the footage and logs voluntarily or the request joins wider oversight fights, like the one over lawmakers’ access to detention centers in California. The autopsy, which ICE said was pending, and the 90-day death report are the next documents likely to show whether the hospital timeline holds up.

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 an LL.M. from California Western School of Law, San Diego 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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