BALTIMORE _ A Nigerian man in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Worcester County Jail in Snow Hill died Saturday morning at the facility, according to a news release distributed Monday night by the agency, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
Anthony Oluseye Akinyemi, 56, was pronounced dead at 5:23 a.m. after he was found unresponsive in his cell and efforts by facility staff and emergency personnel to revive him were unsuccessful, the news release said.
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The preliminary cause of death, according to the agency, appears to be self-inflicted strangulation; however, the case is under investigation.
This agency's review will be conducted by ICE senior leadership, including Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor. Akinyemi had been in ICE custody less than 24 hours, the news release said.
He entered ICE custody Friday, one day after he was convicted in Baltimore City Circuit Court for a sex offense and assault, the agency said.
ICE had previously lodged an immigration detainer against Akinyemi on July 23 in regard to his arrest for sexual abuse of a minor, the release said. Akinyemi entered the U.S. lawfully on a nonimmigrant visa in December 2017, but he failed to comply with the terms of his admission, the agency said.
At the time of his death, Akinyemi was in removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts, according to the release.
