WOODSTOCK, IL — A Mexican man has become the eighth person to die so far this year while in custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an ICE press release. Roberto Rodriguez-Ezpinoza, 37, was being housed at the McHenry County Correctional Facilty prior to his death Sept. 10 at a suburban hospital.
ICE officials say the man’s preliminary cause of death is subdural hematoma, which is a collection of blood outside the brain typically caused by severe head injuries.
Rodriguez-Ezpinoza was arrested Sept. 3 by ICE in Chicago. Rodriguez-Espinoza was a documented Latin Kings gang member with a 2016 burglary conviction and 2008 theft convictions, authorities said.
During his intake screening at the McHenry County Jail, Rodriguez-Espinoza admitted to drinking daily, authorities said. On Sept. 7, staff at the jail noticed him acting confused and a physician ordered he be transported to the emergency room at Northwestern Hospital in Woodstock due to his confusion and history of alcohol consumption.
On Sept. 8, the hospital transferred him via ambulance to Northwestern Hospital in Huntley, where he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage. From there, he was taken to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield for a neurosurgery consult, according to the ICE news release.
“Rodriguez-Espinoza failed to respond during a neurological exam performed upon arrival at Central DuPage, and the attending neurosurgeon advised that Rodriguez-Espinoza was unlikely to survive surgery,” according to the statement from ICE.
ICE officials then contacted the Mexican Consulate to inform them of Rodriguez-Espinoza’s medical status and to request assistance locating his next of kin. Mexican consular officials let ICE officials know Rodriguez-Espinoza had no known next of kin, according to the ICE statement.
ICE officials are now conducting a “comprehensive review” into the incident, which is done in all deaths that occur while detainees are in custody with ICE. The review will be conducted by ICE senior leadership to include Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.
“Fatalities in ICE custody, statistically, are exceedingly rare and occur at a small fraction of the rate of the U.S. detained population as a whole,” ICE officials noted.
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