Carlos Josue Marchena-Marchena, a 36-year-old Costa Rican immigrant, died Sept. 18 in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to a notification the agency sent to lawmakers.
He had been held at Winnfield Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana.
Costa Rican Man Dies in ICE Custody in Louisiana pic.twitter.com/wUJoV3EAOK
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Staff found him unresponsive and called a medical emergency, beginning lifesaving measures before he was taken to Winn Parish Medical Center where resuscitation continued, ICE wrote in the notification.
An onsite physician pronounced him dead at approximately 8 a.m. The official cause remained pending further medical examination.
Marchena-Marchena had been in the country for several years before his death. U.S. Border Patrol arrested him on or about Feb. 9, 2021, for allegedly entering without inspection.
The agency disclosed that his record included convictions for retail fraud in 2024 and malicious destruction of personal property last year. ICE arrested him on Jan. 14, 2026, after the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan had arrested him on an assault charge.
A Department of Justice immigration judge ordered him removed on July 29, 2026.
Marchena-Marchena “received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals” during his time in custody, the agency maintained. The statement does not describe any treatment he received immediately before he was found unresponsive.
Relatives in Costa Rica were already waiting for him. He was not sent there after the order, according to Noticias Telemundo. Instead he was transferred from Michigan to California and finally to Louisiana, where he died Sept. 18 — eight months after his arrest.
“They called me from the foreign ministry of Costa Rica giving us the news [of his death]. They didn’t tell us why he had died and what was [the reason] for his death.” a relative told Noticias Telemundo
He had woken up fainting and had no vital signs when he arrived at the health center, the relative added.
Another relative, Bryan Marchena, questioned the length of detention in comments reported by the outlet:
“if the country [United States] does not want him to be there, why do they take so long to deport the person.”
The facility had been inspected before his death. From March 4 to 6, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General conducted an unannounced inspection of Winn Correctional Center, with a final report issued June 2, 2026.
That inspection was not an investigation into his death and does not address it.
Inspectors found the facility complied with reviewed standards for Special Management Units, general hygiene and the grievance system. In several other areas, they found it falling short.
Those issues included failures to store perishable food at required temperatures, incomplete use-of-force documentation and, in a sample of incidents, use of prohibited techniques. Medical records were not always updated, including problem lists, treatment plans and interpretation of laboratory test results.
Inspectors also found incomplete classification files, inadequate access to legal materials, unlabeled detainee-communication collection methods and no outdoor recreation equipment for detainees in disciplinary segregation. The report noted the facility was slow to respond to their information requests and would not hand over all of its video footage.
The report made nine recommendations. ICE concurred with all nine. Based on the agency’s response to the draft, the inspector general considered four resolved and closed and five resolved and open.
After the death, Enforcement and Removal Operations notified DHS, the ICE Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, ICE said. The Costa Rican Consulate and Congress were also notified.
Separately from its account of Marchena-Marchena’s care, the agency said people in its custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screenings, along with access to emergency care.
A death in custody triggers a set of reviews under ICE Directive 11003.7 — a mortality review of medical history and clinical care, a detainee death report, and reporting to Congress.
ICE mentioned the cause of Marchena-Marchena’s death remains pending further medical examination, while the agency’s required reviews proceed as a separate process.
In Costa Rica, his family learned of his death through a call from the Foreign Ministry, according to Noticias Telemundo, and said they still don’t know why he died.
