Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, a 39-year old Nicaraguan man being detained by immigration authorities, has died in a Natchez, Mississippi hospital.  In the months leading up to his death on Dec. 14, Rodriguez had been held in the Adams County Correctional Center, which is run by Core Civic Inc.   Rodriguez is one of four immigrants who have died in ICE custody within a four-day period from Dec. 12 to Dec. 15. A spokesperson for ICE did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication of this story, and the warden’s office in the Adams County Correctional Center did not respond to a voicemail. “On Dec. 4, 2025, Adams County Detention Center medical staff responded to an emergency medical call. During the emergency response, Rodriguez did not respond to staff and did not have a pulse,” a notification by Immigration and Customs Enforcement says. Rodriguez was then transferred to the Merit Health hospital in Natchez, where he died.  An Enforcement and Removal ICE agent had arrested Rodriguez in Dillon, Colorado, on Sept. 25.  Representatives of the Adams County Sheriff’s Department did not respond in time for publication when asked whether they are looking into Rodriguez’s death.  Since 2018, Congress has required ICE to report all in-custody deaths within 90 days. ICE’s website shows 15 deaths until September 2025. The Washington Post reported that the total number of detainee deaths this year is 30.  Jarvis Dortch, executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi, expressed concern about the recent deaths and conditions in ICE detention facilities across the country.  “Detained individuals, the majority having no criminal record, are due humane conditions, proper medical care, and access to counsel and legal resources,” Dortch said. “This legal standard applies to federal actors as well as their partners in state and local law enforcement.”  While the state of Mississippi and the state Legislature do not have jurisdiction over federal facilities such as the one where Rodriguez died, Rep. Robert Johnson, a Natchez Democrat, said some state lawmakers are planning to raise the issue of detention center conditions, for detainees and employees, once the next legislative session begins in January.  “As a federal prison in a remote county, I don’t think it has the requisite amount of oversight and attention that it needs,” Johnson said about the Adams County facility.  Among Democrats in Mississippi, Johnson said there has been “very little attention to that issue. Not because we don’t care, but we have some very serious and urgent issues that deal directly with the people that we represent right now.”  ICE crackdowns in the South have increased in recent months, and there has been a ripple effect on immigrant communities in Mississippi, leading to fear and uncertainty. Some groups in the state, such as the Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity, El Pueblo and the Party for Socialism and Liberation have begun to organize in response.  “The PSL here in Mississippi is dedicated mainly at the state level, ending the collaborative processes between federal agencies and our local law enforcement,” said Terron Weaver, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “Rodriguez’s death highlights  the carelessness that our politicians and law enforcement officers have approached implementing their agenda with. It is clear they don’t care for anyone’s health, or for due process.” ...read more read less