MONROE, La. (AP) — Federal authorities say a Cuban man has died by apparent suicide while being detained at an immigration jail in Louisiana.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday that 43-year-old Roylan Hernandez Diaz was found unresponsive Tuesday afternoon inside his cell at the Richwood Correctional Center.
ICE did not comment on allegations from people with family members detained inside Richwood that he was in solitary confinement at the time of his death.
ICE said Hernandez entered the U.S. in May at an official port of entry in El Paso, Texas, and was sent to immigration detention.
Located in rural northern Louisiana, Richwood is one of eight jails in the state that has started detaining immigrants under federal contracts. ICE says it's detaining around 8,000 people in Louisiana out of about 51,000 nationally.