Urgent Investigation Launched into Death of Cambodian Refugee in U.S. Custody

On February 19, Reuters reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is urgently investigating the death of a Cambodian detainee in Indiana on February 16. This is the seventh death in federal immigration custody this year, occurring under the strict immigration crackdown policies of former President Donald Trump. The deceased, Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old Cambodian national, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Miami Correctional Facility. Sim had originally arrived in the U.S. as a refugee in 1983 and received permanent residency in 1986, but was later ordered deported in 2006 due to previous criminal convictions. Democratic and civil rights groups have criticized the inhumane conditions in ICE detention facilities, highlighting ongoing concerns about immigrant detainee treatment.