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Hundreds of radical gathered Saturday for the burial of a young Mexican antheral who died successful U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, with household members denouncing the "fabricated" charges that led to his detention and death.
Royer Perez Jimenez, a 19-year-old from the municipality of San Juan Chamula successful the confederate Mexican authorities of Chiapas, died connected March 16 astatine a detention halfway successful Florida.
After the household received his assemblage connected Thursday, his uncle, Manuel Perez, said Royer was a "hard worker" who immigrated astatine 15 to "triumph and assistance his family."
He was arrested successful January connected suspicion of resisting apprehension and giving a mendacious individuality to instrumentality enforcement, but Perez insists helium was confused due to the fact that helium was not fluent successful English.
Relatives and friends outcry watching the coffin of Royer Perez Jimenez, a 19-year-old Mexican migrant who was recovered dormant successful a U.S. detention center, during his ceremonial successful the Tzotzil indigenous assemblage of San Juan Chamula, Chiapas state, Mexico connected April 4, 2026.
Luis AGUILAR /AFP via Getty Images
"He was unjustly accused arsenic a criminal. ... They fabricated a crime," Perez told AFP, portion besides expressing the family's doubts astir the circumstances of his death.
ICE officials said Royer died of an evident termination but the authoritative origin of decease remained nether investigation.
"What we privation is simply a thorough probe because, unfortunately, we bash not judge termination was the origin of his death, alternatively we fishy it was astir apt a homicide," Perez said.
According to ICE, Perez Jimenez was evaluated by aesculapian unit erstwhile helium arrived astatine the migration detention halfway successful precocious February and answered "no" to each termination screening questions, CBS News Miami reported.
Relatives and friends transportation the coffin of Royer Perez Jimenez, a 19-year-old Mexican migrant who was recovered dormant successful a U.S. detention center, during his ceremonial successful the Tzotzil indigenous assemblage of San Juan Chamula, Chiapas state, Mexico connected April 4, 2026.
Luis AGUILAR /AFP via Getty Images
At slightest 14 migrants of assorted nationalities person died successful ICE custody successful 2026, according to officials, amid President Trump's ongoing migration crackdown. In 2025, 31 ICE detainees died, a two-decade high, according to a CBS News analysis of ICE records.
Fourteen Mexican nationals person died aft interaction with U.S. migration authorities since Mr. Trump began his 2nd word successful January 2025.
The rising decease toll comes as ICE's detention population hit grounds highs amid Mr. Trump's assertive crackdown connected amerciable immigration. As of aboriginal February, ICE was holding much than 68,000 radical successful detention centers crossed the U.S., bureau figures show.
But adjacent aft accounting for the fig of radical successful detention each year, 2025 inactive had the highest decease complaint — 5.6 radical per 10,000 detainees — since 2020, erstwhile the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a CBS News investigation found.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report.
In:
ICE custody deaths astatine two-decade precocious
Deaths of radical successful ICE custody astatine two-decade high
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