'He Was a Very Sick Man': Migrant Dies of Untreated HIV in 'Deadly' Arizona ICE Facility, Report Reveals

A 45-year-old Ethiopian man died in U.S. immigration custody after spending months without treatment for HIV or tuberculosis, according to a new report from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). His recent death is one of the latest to occur in the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, a facility long flagged for detainee deaths and systemic medical neglect.

The man had been in ICE custody for five months, per POGO. Despite showing visible signs of illness, he wasn't given proper treatment until it was too late. A medical examiner's report cited in the investigation shows he was suffering from an array of severe infections linked to untreated HIV when he died in January. By then, he had lost 20% of his body weight and was in critical condition.

"He was a gravely ill man," Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of the Duke Global Health Institute told POGO. "It's hard to imagine that nobody noticed he was deteriorating this quickly."

"If they had run routine blood work, they would have seen immediately from his CD4 count that he had HIV," Rutgers public health professor Perry Halkitis added. "You think if your grandparent went to the doctor four months in a row getting thinner and weaker, they wouldn't run tests?"

The investigation uncovered ICE records showing that the man received care for back pain a few times during his detention. Yet, POGO found no documentation of HIV and tuberculosis treatments prior to an emergency room visit shortly before his death.

The Eloy Detention Center is operated by CoreCivic, a private prison company. Both the facility and the company have long been criticized by immigration advocates for poor medical standards and a troubling number of deaths. "Our experience over the last couple decades has been that Eloy is one of the most deadly facilities," Setareh Ghandehari from the Detention Watch Network said in a written statement addressing the investigation.

While an ICE spokesperson told POGO the federal agency is "committed to the health, welfare, and safety of those in its custody," advocates say the migrant's death is the latest example of systemic medical neglect, which they only expect to worsen as the Trump administration pushes to expand detention capacity.

Halkitis also raised concerns about public health risks inside detention centers. Tuberculosis, which the man had at the time of his death, is highly contagious. "I would not be surprised if other people became infected during that time," he said.

Last year, a report by a coalition of human rights groups found multiple cases of HIV-positive people in ICE custody going without needed care. The report centered around the mistreatment of LGBTQ detainees-- 13 out of the 17 HIV-positive detainees surveyed reported that they were denied medical care while in custody. Additionally, 28 out of 41 detainees said they got inadequate medical care.

"We have an obligation," said Halkitis, "even if we don't believe these individuals should be in our country."