ICE detainee dies at Folkston facility, 5th in state since Trump reelection

A Salvadoran man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement died by apparent suicide while being held at a South Georgia immigrant jail, the agency confirmed Friday.

Luis Sandoval, 48, was found with a ligature around his neck at the Folkston D. Ray ICE Processing Center in the early morning hours Friday, ICE officials said. The agency reported that facility staff “immediately began life-saving measures.”

Paramedics from Charlton County continued resuscitation efforts, but Gonzalez was pronounced dead at 2:28 a.m., the officials said.

Sandoval is the fifth ICE detainee to have died in custody in Georgia under President Donald Trump’s second administration. Two have died by suicide, according to officials, in ICE’s Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin. Two other ICE detainees died during transfers.

Another individual became sick while in detention and died days after he was transferred to a hospital and released from ICE custody. He is excluded from ICE’s detainee death tally.

There have now been 29 deaths in ICE custody nationwide in 2026. Over the course of the federal fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, 2025, and ran through Sept. 30, 2026, a total of 38 people lost their lives in ICE detention — making it the deadliest on record.

“We call for an immediate independent investigation into this tragic death and for accountability. Folkston must be shut down immediately,” Azadeh Shahshahani, the legal and advocacy director for the social justice organization Project South, said in a statement.

According to ICE, Sandoval entered the country illegally at an unknown date and location. He was arrested by immigration agents in New Jersey and arrived at Folkston on Oct. 8 to await his first deportation court hearing.

ICE described Sandoval as a “criminal alien” and said his criminal history includes “convictions for aggravated assault, making terroristic threats, receiving stolen property, and theft by unlawful taking as well as a charge for drug possession.”

“ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments,” ICE’s report says.

Sandoval’s death came amid an ongoing hunger strike at Folkston, with several detainees protesting poor conditions and prolonged detentions.

Arrest made in Molotov incident

Also Friday, federal authorities arrested the individual suspected of hurling a Molotov cocktail at ICE’s Atlanta field office downtown.

Inique Hinton, a Douglasville resident, is facing charges of attempted arson of a federal building and depredation of government property.

According to U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg, security cameras captured Hinton walking near the ICE facility on Ted Turner Drive shortly after 8 p.m. Oct. 20. Minutes later, Hinton allegedly ignited an item and threw it toward the building, striking an exterior fence and causing flames to spread.