Federal detainee 4th to die at south Georgia facility

LUMPKIN, Ga. – A Mexican detainee has died in the custody of federal immigration authorities in Georgia.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports 44-year-old Pedro Arriago-Santoya is the fourth detainee at Stewart Detention Center to die since 2017.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a release Thursday that Arriago-Santoya’s preliminary cause of death was heart infection and multi-organ failure.

ICE says Arriago-Santoya complained of abdominal pain Saturday and was transferred to a hospital in Cuthbert. On Sunday, he was transferred to a Columbus facility for a surgery consultation based on suspected gall bladder disease. He went into cardiac arrest on Monday and, again, on Wednesday and died.

Arriago-Santoyao had been held since April 24. He was ordered deported June 6 and ICE was preparing to return him to Mexico.

He is the seventh ICE detainee to die nationwide since October.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com