A 75-year-old Cuban man detained at the Krome Service Processing Center in Miami died Thursday after experiencing chest pains, marking the second reported death in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in South Florida in recent weeks.
According to ICE, Isidro Perez was being held in the facility’s Medical Housing Unit when he reported chest discomfort. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the call and administered life-saving interventions, including the use of a defibrillator. Perez was transported to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
ICE said Perez had been arrested on June 5 in Key Largo and charged with inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act. After his arrest, he was diagnosed with several medical conditions and hospitalized at Larken Community Hospital on June 17. He was released eight days later, on June 25, and returned to ICE custody.
Perez had been living in the U.S. for decades, having been paroled into the country on April 1, 1966. He was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 1981 and again in 1984.
His death adds to mounting concerns about the conditions at the Krome Detention Center, where there have been multiple complaints of abuse and neglect, including reports of prior deaths in custody.
Just over a week earlier, a 49-year-old Canadian man, Johnny Noviello, died at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami. Noviello, a long-time U.S. resident, was found unresponsive in his cell on June 23. ICE said medical personnel administered CPR and used an automated external defibrillator before calling emergency services. His cause of death is under investigation.
An investigation into Perez’s death is also ongoing. ICE has not released further details about the nature of his medical conditions or the care he received while in custody.
