Death at Stewart Detention Center sparks calls for investigation

A 33-year old man from Cuba died in the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia on April 28.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement saying that Denny Adan Gonzalez died from a suspected suicide, but they are investigating the case, according to WABE.

Gonzalez was arrested in North Carolina on assault and domestic violence charges and was transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in January.

Officials told WTVM News Leader 9 that staff of CoreCivic, the private prison company that runs the detention center, found Gonzalez unresponsive in his cell.

Immigrant rights advocates say Stewart Detention Center is one of the deadliest ICE facilities in the country, and they are calling for a full, independent investigation into the death of Gonzalez.

Samantha Hamilton, a senior litigation staff attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said she heard about the death from a client.

“Every employee at ICE and CoreCivic who runs the profit-maximizing venture that is the Stewart Detention Center have blood on their hands,” Hamilton said. “The detention and deportation machine continues to remind us that it is not intended to keep communities safe, and it never was.”