A man held at the D. Ray James immigration detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, died on Friday, according to local and federal officials. The death came while a hunger strike inside the complex continues 1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed it on Saturday 1.
ICE identified the man as Luis Sandoval, 48, from El Salvador. The agency said staff found him with a ligature around his neck at about 1:46 a.m. Friday, and he was pronounced dead less than an hour later 1. ICE said he was arrested earlier this month and moved to Folkston on Oct. 8, and that he had prior convictions for aggravated assault and other crimes. It said the death is under investigation 1.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), a state law enforcement agency, said the local sheriff's office asked it to conduct an "in-custody death investigation." The GBI said it could not share more because the investigation is active 1. It is unknown whether Sandoval took part in the hunger strike 1.
Strike and force-feeding threats
The strike began Oct. 6, when detainees, many of them asylum seekers held for long periods, began refusing food. They cite poor medical care, food that makes people sick and dirty facilities 2. An ICE spokesman said 13 people were on strike at that time, and advocates said the number was higher 2.
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Andrei Gerdiukov, a Russian asylum seeker, is still striking. He said by phone on Saturday that officials threatened to force-feed the strikers, and that at least 12 are still taking part 1. He said several have been fainting 1. On Friday, he said, strikers were moved to another unit where medical staff took their vital signs, which raised fears that force-feeding was near 1. It is not clear whether or when officials plan to do it 1.
Force-feeding requires a judge's approval. Guards restrain a striker while medical staff push a tube through the nose into the stomach. Medical ethicists and human rights groups have called the practice torture 1. The Guardian counted at least 19 cases from January 2025 through August 2026 in which ICE sought court permission to force-feed detainees 1.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to the Guardian's requests for comment. GEO Group, the private prison company that runs the facility under a federal contract, referred questions to ICE 1.
Reaction and what is next
This was a preventable tragedy
Austin Kocher, a researcher at American University, said ICE custody has averaged one death every 10 days this year. Sandoval is the 60th person to die in ICE custody since President Trump's second term began 1.
That matters because the allegations and the death are separate matters that deserve separate answers. The GBI inquiry will look at how Sandoval died. Whether officials force-feed the strikers is a question for a judge, and the public may learn little, since such court records are often sealed 1. Gerdiukov's wife, Polina Chertushkina, is asking lawmakers to help her husband 1.
The Record
- A hunger strike begins at the Folkston facility 2.
- ICE says Luis Sandoval was moved to the Folkston facility 1.
- Sandoval was found with a ligature around his neck at about 1:46 a.m. and pronounced dead less than an hour later, ICE says 1.
- ICE confirmed the death; the GBI is conducting an in-custody death investigation 1.
Sources
- The Guardian, “Man detained at Georgia immigration detention center dies as hunger strike continues” (2026-10-24). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/24/georgia-ice-man-dies
- WABE / NPR (via WWNO), “Detainees at Georgia ICE facility on hunger strike for better conditions” (2026-10-16). wwno.org/npr-news/2026-10-16/detainees-at-georgia-ice-facili
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