Dying in ICE custody: Inside America's immigration detention system | Fault Lines Documentary

In September 2025, 39-year-old Ismael Ayala-Uribe died just one month after entering California’s Adelanto ICE Processing Center.

He was one of more than 50 people to die in immigration custody during Donald Trump’s first 500 days back in office.

His family says he repeatedly complained of intense pain and asked for medical help, but received little beyond Tylenol. When he finally reached a hospital, his heart stopped within minutes.

The Trump administration is detaining record numbers of immigrants, and deaths in custody are soaring. Fault Lines investigates failures in medical care and oversight, allegations of retaliation against hunger strikers and the role of private prison companies in the rapid expansion of immigration detention.

Credits

Director & Producer: Jeremy Young
Correspondent: Natasha Del Toro
Editor: Warwick Meade
Director of Photography: Joel Van Haren
Executive Producer: Laila Al-Arian
Associate Producer and Fact Checker: Mehr Sher
Production Associate: Khadeejah Khan
Writers: Jeremy Young, Laila Al-Arian, Natasha Del Toro
Sound Mix: Linus Bergman
Colorist: Anna Stalter
Additional Footage: Capital & Main
Production Management: Anabelle Rojas
Legal Review: George Stephanopoulos
Digital Producer: Riham Mansour

Special Thanks

Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Esmeralda Santos
Tamara Marquez
Immigration Defenders Law Center
Melissa Shepard
Rafi Mustafa
Capital & Main
Marco Amador
Audrey Carleton
L.A. Taco
Lexis Olivier-Rey
Morgan Keith

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