Death at Nassau Jail is Unacceptable says LatinoJustice PRLDEF
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2025
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Death at Nassau Jail is Unacceptable says LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Man in ICE Custody Dies in Nassau County
New York, NY – Nassau County officials have reported that a 42-year-old man held by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Nassau County died on Thursday. According to reports officials pronounced the man dead at the scene. Details about the death have not yet been released but an investigation is said to be taking place to determine the cause of death.
This is the first reported death of a person in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nassau custody. As of September 2025, at least 14 people have died around the county in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during Fiscal Year 2025.
In June of 2025 a lawsuit was filed challenging Nassau County 287(g) agreement with ICE. The lawsuit was on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN), the Haitian American Family of Long Island (HAFALI), community advocates, and two Long Island residents, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Latino Justice PRLDEF, and the Hofstra Law Clinic.
The following statement can be attributed to Andrew Case, Supervising Counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF:
“The tragic death of a man in Nassau County’s jail while in ICE custody is devastating and unacceptable. No one should lose their life in a county jail, let alone while being held under a partnership that Nassau should never have entered into in the first place.
“Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s decision to partner with ICE earlier this year, has turned the county jail into a federal immigration detention center. That unlawful agreement is why the Nassau County Correctional Center is holding immigrants who has not been charged with crimes putting lives at risk and sowing fear into our immigrant communities.
LatinoJustice has already filed a lawsuit challenging Nassau County’s unlawful 287(g) agreement with ICE, the first lawsuit of its kind in New York State. Nassau County must immediately end its partnership with ICE and 287(g). LatinoJustice PRLDEF will not stop fighting until immigrant families in Nassau, and across the country, are treated with dignity, fairness, and humanity.”
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About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For over 50 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout the country. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.LatinoJustice.org