Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Mexican national dies in ICE custody in Las Vegas

Miguel Sarabia-Ortega, a Mexican national with legal permanent resident status in the United States, died Tuesday evening at a Las Vegas hospital while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Metro Police detained the 36-year-old Sarabia-Ortega Tuesday morning on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine pipes, federal officials said. Metro Police alerted federal immigration officials after discovering Sarabia-Ortega was the subject of an ICE lookout during a background check.

“Legal permanent residents can be subject to deportation if they have been convicted of certain types of crimes, including aggravated felonies,” said ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice, who had not received authorization to release specifics of Sarabia-Ortega’s record.

Around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday ICE took custody of Sarabia-Ortega from Metro Police and took him to a local facility for processing.

While at the ICE office Sarabia became “highly agitated, yelling and attempting to remove his handcuffs,” according to federal officials.

Later in the afternoon, as ICE personnel were in the process of taking Sarabia-Ortega to an overnight detention facility in a van, the detainee became unresponsive.

He was taken by ambulance to Desert Springs Hospital, where he died shortly after.

“During the initial interview we take biographical information and medical information,” Kice said. “He was asked if he had any medical conditions, and the only thing he mentioned was high blood pressure.”

The Clark County coroner’s office has yet to determine a cause of death. Metro will conduct the investigation, which is standard procedure for deaths within Clark County.