Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Dies at Stewart Detention Center — 18th ICE Custody Death in 2026, 5th Suicide; Was in Solitary Confinement

Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Cuban national, died at approximately 11:11 PM on April 28, 2026, at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia — operated by CoreCivic under contract to ICE. Staff found Gonzalez unresponsive in his cell at approximately 10:25 PM and began life-saving measures until local emergency responders arrived. ICE listed his cause of death as suspected suicide, pending official determination. He became the 18th person to die in ICE custody in calendar year 2026, the 5th apparent suicide, and the 48th death since President Trump took office in January 2025. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) noted that Gonzalez had been placed in solitary confinement — isolated for 22 to 24 hours per day — following an altercation with a CoreCivic guard that left the guard unconscious. PHR's response highlighted that solitary confinement compounds existing psychological risks, particularly for individuals already isolated from family, legal support, and community, and that medical evidence shows dramatic elevation of suicide risk during solitary confinement. Gonzalez had been arrested in December 2025 by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office in Charlotte, North Carolina, on charges of assault and domestic violence, then transferred to ICE custody. At the pace of 18 calendar-year deaths in fewer than four months (through April 28), 2026 is on track to be the deadliest year in ICE detention history by far. ICE stopped paying for third-party external medical care for detainees on October 3, 2025. The mortality rate in ICE detention in FY2026 is already the highest on record in the past two decades, according to research published in JAMA. A prior analysis found 95% of deaths in ICE detention could likely have been prevented with adequate medical care.