Pressroom

New Orleans, LA - Carlos Josue Marchena Marchena, 36, has died in ICE custody of alleged medical neglect, following Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) failure to provide the proper food and medical care he needed to manage his diabetes. The Winn Correctional Center where Marchena was detained is notorious for its abuse, neglect, and lack of oversight. Marchena is the third person to die in a Louisiana ICE facility since April, an alarming number especially considering ICE is planning to open a new detention center to detain families and children in Alexandria, LA later this month.

Setareh Ghandehari, Advocacy Director at Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened and equally enraged by the mounting loss of life at the hands of ICE. ICE kills people and threatens community safety across the country. No one is safe when ICE is present – whether on the streets or in one of the agency’s more than 200 abuse-ridden detention facilities.

“Trump is executing his cruel mass deportation agenda at the expense of all Americans while valued and vital community members and family members are dying in detention at a record scale. Fiscal year 2026 was the deadliest fiscal year in ICE’s history. There have been at least 56 deaths in ICE custody since Trump was inaugurated, at least 11 fatal shootings by ICE and CBP under the current Trump administration, several other deaths caused by ICE operations, and an unknown number of deaths of people who were in ICE custody and then died shortly after their release.

“Make no mistake, we are witnessing a watershed moment. There have been at least 36 in custody deaths in the current fiscal year which ends in one week, making it by far the most deadly fiscal year in ICE’s entire existence. No more abuse and death at the hands of ICE and no more ICE funding while people lose health care, struggle to pay rent and kids go hungry. We demand an end to the ICE age.”

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Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.