Beyond the Border: Another death in ICE custody, Camp East Montana contract extension and a $100 million surveillance plan
Here's what happened this week in immigration news.
Written by Emma Chen, Edited by Kate Morrissey
Welcome to another edition of Beyond the Border, which summarizes immigration news from across the country in a weekly roundup. Did we miss something? Message us via kate@daylightsandiego.org or on Instagram.
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Deaths in ICE custody
The New York Times reported that Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias died at an ICE detention facility in Laredo, Texas, after staff failed to provide medication or respond to his worsening health, according to his family.
ICE confirmed that Andrade-Covarrubias held lawful permanent resident status, The Texas Tribune reported. The agency accused him of obtaining his green card fraudulently, and his family disputed that allegation.
The government of Mexico said it would pursue a criminal complaint following his death and called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Julian Curo Churata, a 47-year-old Peruvian immigrant, died at a Louisiana hospital while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s custody on Sept. 29, and federal officials initially provided no explanation for his death, the Latin Times reported.
The Washington Post reported that Churata's wife demanded answers after her husband died from cardiac arrest due to septic shock in ICE custody, raising questions about delays in emergency medical treatment.
Al Jazeera investigated the death of Ismael Ayala-Uribe, whose family accused ICE of failing to provide adequate medical treatment for an infection that ultimately killed him at a California detention facility in September 2025.
WTHR reported that a man sued ICE and the Department of Homeland Security after his father died in immigration custody at Miami Correctional Facility, alleging that officials denied him diabetes medication and withheld records about his death.
Houston ICE officer investigation
The New York Times reported that when an ICE officer struck a construction worker with a car and shattered his leg, the officer claimed they were pursuing a man who has actually been dead for nearly a decade.
ICE placed the officer who struck the worker on administrative leave while local prosecutors investigate possible criminal charges, NBC News reported.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said ICE transferred a key witness to Port Isabel, Texas regarding the case, complicating the county's investigation, Houston Public Media reported.
Other ICE use of force
The Guardian reported that federal immigration officers broke a U.S. citizen’s arm while detaining him during a confrontation with protesters in Long Beach, California.
An ABC News investigation identified at least 21 people whom federal immigration officials shot during President Donald Trump's second term, including eight people who died from their injuries.
San Diego student released
San Diego City Times reported that a federal judge ordered the release of San Diego City College student Renatho Casseus after he spent 39 days in ICE custody following his September arrest near campus.
San Diego City College student Renatho Casseus described his arrest by ICE agents and his 39 days in immigration detention after a federal judge ordered his release, KPBS reported.
Camp East Montana
Attorneys representing immigrants at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, alleged in recent court documents that guards physically abused detainees and denied them adequate medical care, food and sanitation, putting them at risk of serious injury or death, The Guardian reported.
El Paso Matters reported that attorneys representing immigrants at Camp East Montana sought federal court intervention to establish independent oversight of the detention center, arguing that existing government inspections failed to hold the facility accountable.
Project Salt Box reported that ICE planned to extend the facility’s contract without competitive bidding through 2028, potentially increasing its value to approximately $2.8 billion despite previous deaths and safety violations.
ICE arrests
Immigration attorneys and advocates reported an increase in ICE arrests across Chicago as officers shift toward quieter, more targeted enforcement tactics, Borderless Magazine reported.
The Evanston RoundTable reported that residents continued to express concerns about federal immigration enforcement nearly one year after an October 2025 confrontation involving ICE officers resulted in the temporary detention of three people in Evanston, Illinois.
KPRC reported that Houston immigrant rights advocates called for greater accountability from federal immigration authorities after recent enforcement operations raised concerns about public safety and family separations.
Other stories to watch
Prism reported that pregnant women in ICE custody face inadequate medical care and detention policies rooted in a history of eugenics, raising concerns about reproductive rights and the health of detained immigrants.
The American Prospect reported that ICE planned to spend approximately $100 million on a domestic surveillance initiative called ERO ONE, which would deploy 142 intelligence contractors across more than two dozen cities and Washington, D.C.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded a private contractor a deal worth up to $9.2 million without competitive bidding to review body camera footage, cellphone records and other evidence amid mounting litigation against the agency, Project Salt Box reported.
The Colorado Times Recorder reported that newly appointed San Diego immigration judge David Illingworth faced allegations of abusing his authority and intimidating critics during his previous tenure on a Colorado school board.
Migrant Insider reported that a Government Accountability Office investigation found shortcomings in ICE's body camera program, including the agency's failure to ensure that officers consistently activate their cameras during enforcement operations.
The Pentagon authorized the Department of Homeland Security to test a military-grade heat-ray weapon that causes an intense burning sensation on the skin for potential use along the U.S.-Mexico border, CNN reported.
The Border Chronicle examined activists' efforts to oppose border wall construction near Lochiel, Arizona, as federal authorities advanced construction plans that threatened the surrounding environment.
Chief Immigration Judge Teresa Riley instructed immigration courts to continue collecting annual asylum fees despite a federal judge's earlier decision to invalidate the regulations governing those fees, Migrant Insider reported.
Former Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino launched a $99 bourbon brand called Commander's Choice that features immigration enforcement slogans, including "Deport Them All," The New York Times reported.
The Marshall Project filed a federal lawsuit against ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security seeking records identifying people in immigration custody and their detention locations after ICE stopped including certain people in its detainee lookup database, preventing families and attorneys from finding people in custody.
Federal authorities charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with election-related offenses, including allegations of illegally registering to vote or voting, ahead of the November midterm elections, Mother Jones reported.
The boy band Boy Throb performed together as a four-member group for the first time at New Jersey's American Dream mall after Indian member Darshan Magdum secured a U.S. visa, The New York Times reported.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that a traveling memorial featuring 103 crosses honoring people who died in immigration custody or during enforcement operations visited a church in Melrose Park, Illinois.
Thanks for reading! Take care and stay well.
— Emma Chen
