By Niki Kelly
Indiana Capital Chronicle
The U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement announced a detainee from Cambodia died in ICE custody on Monday at Miami Correctional Facility in north-central Indiana.
An ICE news release said staff found Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old convicted felon, unresponsive in his cell. He was pronounced dead at 7:10 a.m., despite lifesaving efforts by facility staff and emergency medical services. The cause of death is under investigation.
Miami Correctional Facility started holding ICE detainees in October, under a two-year agreement with the federal government. Up to 1,000 beds are available to hold detainees at a payment of $294 a day to the state.
According to the ICE release, Sim was arrested for disorderly conduct in 1989, indecent exposure in 1996, and larceny in 2005, receiving a suspended sentence and probation but no prison time. In 2006, ICE arrested him, and an immigration judge ordered his removal to Cambodia.
On Dec. 30 last year, ICE officers encountered Sim at an agency office lobby in Boston and informed him he was under arrest and would be detained in ICE custody pursuant to a warrant of removal. On Jan. 5, ICE Boston transferred him to ICE Chicago custody.
Sim entered the United States as a refugee in 1983 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1986.
ICE notified the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Cambodian consulate about Sim’s death, as required by agency policy.
Sim is the 7th immigrant to die in ICE custody this year, according to immigration analyst Austin Kocher. Nearly 40 deaths have occurred since President Donald Trump took office.
“ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay,” the agency said. “All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility; access to medical appointments; and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained alien denied emergency care.”
As of Feb. 5, Kocher reported Miami was holding an average of 577 detainees per day, with an average length of stay of 34 days. His statistical analysis found that ICE detains more people and for more days at Miami compared to other facilities.
The Indiana Department of Correction referred questions to ICE.
Rep. Ed DeLaney, an outspoken critic of the deal with ICE, called for state investigation as well.
“I have spoken to officials at the Department of Correction and urged them to conduct a thorough investigation of the death of this detainee,” DeLaney said in a Wednesday statement. “We need to ensure that our procedures and medical contractors are up to the task of appropriately caring for people in ICE custody.”
“Public trust in ICE is near zero. Since the state of Indiana has decided to allow ICE to use our facilities, it is incumbent on us to ensure that the conditions in that facility are up to standard,” he said. “Over the last few months, I have visited Miami Correctional Facility three times to see for myself that detainees are receiving proper treatment. I will continue to monitor this situation until we have a full public report of what happened to this detainee and receive proper assurance there was no systemic failure that could cost another person their life.”
