EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated to reflect that Congressman Min’s office, not Min directly, spoke with Gabriel Garcia-Aviles’ daughter.
A 56-year-old man died last month while being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville — a facility long criticized for poor medical care and unsafe conditions. The man’s family and Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security, including details about his medical condition before his death and whether an autopsy has been conducted.
DHS said in a statement on Monday that Gabriel Garcia Aviles died on October 23rd, just a week after he was transferred to the Adelanto ICE facility. DHS says Garcia-Aviles’ died from cardiac arrest because of his alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
KVCR was not able to reach Garcia-Aviles’ family, but Democratic Congressman Dave Min says Aviles’ daughter spoke to his district director. According to Min's office Garcia-Aviles' daughter told them they couldn’t see him for days before he died.
Min says what Garcia-Aviles' family is asking from DHS is “very reasonable” and says he also wants answers.
“They want to understand what happened here,” said Min. “They want to know if there was an autopsy. If there was, they want the results of that autopsy."
Garcia-Aviles’ family said in a GoFundMe post that they’re mourning his death and seeking help with funeral costs. The family told news outlet L.A. Taco that they spent days trying to reach ICE before finally seeing him at the hospital, where he was unconscious, bruised and on a ventilator.
KVCR reached out to DHS for more information about Garcia-Aviles’ condition and whether an autopsy was conducted, but the agency did not respond to a request for comment.
Adelanto’s ICE Processing Center has faced years of scrutiny for poor living conditions and inadequate medical care. Immigrants arrested during recent Border Patrol and ICE operations have been held there, and advocates say the facility has become increasingly unsafe. They say detainees face inadequate medical and mental health care, limited access to water and poor food quality.
In September, another person — 39-year-old Ismael Ayala-Uribe — died after being held at Adelanto for about a month, marking the latest in a series of in-custody deaths at the facility.
Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu, who has long pushed for investigations into the facility and its closure, said she doubts DHS’ account of what happened to Garcia-Aviles and Ayala-Uribe, adding that the agency shows little interest in transparency.
“They are saying that they will not conduct an autopsy and declare his death due to natural causes,” said Chu. “Well, I think that that is just a cover up if they have nothing. If they have nothing to be blamed for, then, why wouldn't they agree to an autopsy? Because the conditions in which he was in which he died, raises so many questions.”
