A 48-year-old immigrant detained at a large immigration facility in Georgia died during a hunger strike, officials confirmed on Friday. The incident occurred at the D Ray James detention center in Folkston, which is part of a larger complex operated under contract by the private prison company GEO Group for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The man, identified by ICE as Luis Sandoval from El Salvador, was found with a ligature around his neck in the early hours of Friday morning and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Sandoval had been transferred to the Folkston facility on October 8 following his arrest earlier this month. ICE noted that Sandoval had prior convictions, including aggravated assault, and stated that the death remains under investigation. Authorities have not confirmed whether Sandoval was involved in the ongoing hunger strike at the center. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is conducting an “in-custody death investigation” at the request of the local sheriff's office.
The death at Folkston marks the 60th fatality in ICE custody since early 2017, amid intensified immigration enforcement efforts. Austin Kocher, president of Relevant Research and a research fellow at American University, highlighted that this year alone, deaths in ICE custody have averaged one every ten days. Kocher criticized what he described as contradictory approaches by ICE, which reportedly threatens to use force-feeding against hunger-striking detainees while exhibiting attitudes that devalue migrant lives. The practice of force-feeding has been justified by ICE in court as necessary to maintain order and preserve detainees’ lives, although human rights advocates often describe the measure as inhumane.
The hunger strike at the Folkston facility began nearly three weeks ago, with detainees demanding faster processing of their immigration cases and protesting poor conditions of confinement. Among those participating is Andrei Gerdiukov, a Russian asylum seeker who, along with his wife Polina Chertushkina, fled persecution related to their opposition to the war in Ukraine. Gerdiukov described deteriorating health conditions among the hunger strikers, noting symptoms such as dizziness and fatigue. He also said that authorities have threatened force-feeding and that some detainees have fainted.
According to Gerdiukov, hunger strikers were transferred to another unit on Friday, where medical personnel, reportedly wearing combat boots, performed vital sign assessments—a move that raised concerns about impending force-feeding. Efforts to employ force-feeding require court approval and involve restraining detainees while medical staff insert feeding tubes, a contentious practice opposed by many medical ethicists and human rights organizations.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not provide further comments on the death or the hunger strike. GEO Group declined to comment and directed inquiries to ICE. Advocacy groups have called for an independent investigation into Sandoval’s death and urged the immediate closure of the Folkston facility, citing ongoing concerns over detainee welfare and conditions.
Since early 2025, ICE has sought judicial permission to force-feed at least 19 detainees engaged in hunger strikes nationwide, with some individuals receiving force-feeding for periods extending several months. The situation at Folkston reflects broader tensions within the U.S. immigration detention system as controversy continues over detainee treatment and federal enforcement policies.