U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said last week the 42-year-old Honduran immigrant who recently died in its custody in the Nassau County jail likely died of “liver failure complicated by alcoholism.”
But the family of Santos Reyes-Banegasa called the determination “absurd,” and doctors have said the cause is highly unlikely, according to published reports.
Reyes-Banegas was pronounced dead by a police medic on the morning of Sept. 18 when he was found unresponsive in his cell around 6:30 a.m.
In a statement last week, ICE said Reyes-Banegas arrived at the East Meadow jail the day prior and was medically cleared for detention within two hours of arrival after going through the medical intake process.
“His cause of death is still under investigation,” ICE said in a statement. “However, the preliminary cause appears to be liver failure complicated by alcoholism. He was at the Nassau County Correctional Center for fewer than 18 hours before being found unresponsive in his unit.”
His sister “called ICE’s explanation absurd” and “demanded a full accounting of his death,” Newsday reported.
“How could he die so quickly? That is absurd,” his sister said. She added that ICE’s explanation “is strange,” because liver failure “takes a long time to develop.”
Reyes-Banegas’s sister said he was healthy and working jobs on construction sites, doing physical labor. Newsday reported.
Medical professionals were quoted as saying it would be “highly unusual” for someone with liver failure to not show tell-tale symptoms, like yellowing skin and eyes, 18 hours before death.
The report said his family is requesting an independent autopsy.
According to ICE, Reyes-Banegas has entered the country illegally four times since 2004. Agents in Nassau detained him last Wednesday and reinstated a deportation order.
His family said he did not have a criminal record and that no county officials have reached out to them about his death.
Reyes-Banegas’ detention at the East Meadow Correctional Center was a result of Nassau County’s partnership with ICE. The county’s jail has held over 1,400 detainees since the start of the year. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has said the federal government pays the county $195 per detainee per night they are held.
ICE’s statement on Reyes-Banegas’s death said it is committed to “ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments,” and that it provides “comprehensive medical care” to individuals while detained.
