Vietnamese ICE detainee dies in custody, prompting investigation

Muri Assunção, New York Daily News on Jul 22, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A Vietnamese national died while under the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend after experiencing “seizures, vomiting, and unresponsiveness,” immigration officials said Tuesday.

Tien Xuan Phan had been detained at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center in South Central Texas since his arrest about seven weeks ago.

Phan was admitted to Otto Kaiser Memorial Hospital in Karnes County on Friday and later air-lifted to the Methodist Hospital Northeast in Live Oak, a northeastern suburb of San Antonio, for further evaluation.

The 55-year-old was pronounced dead at the hospital Saturday shortly before 6 p.m. The cause of death remains under investigation, authorities said Tuesday. ICE is required to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days.

Phan was ordered removed by an immigration judge on April 2, 2012, but “failed to leave the U.S. as ordered,” according to the agency.

Enforcement and Removal Operations deportation officers arrested Phan on June 2. Officials have not disclosed whether the Vietnamese national had a criminal record.

Phan is at least the ninth immigrant — and the second from Vietnam — to die in ICE custody this year, according to the agency’s detainee death reporting database.

Last year, 12 foreign nationals died while in ICE custody.