A Cuban man living in Charlotte died last week while in federal immigration custody at a detention center in Georgia.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said 33-year-old Denny Adan Gonzalez died last Tuesday at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. ICE says Gonzalez's cause of death remains under investigation.
According to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, Gonzalez was arrested in Charlotte on Dec. 11 on domestic violence charges. ICE lodged an immigration detainer against him the following day.
Court records show Gonzalez was initially denied bond and spent more than a month in custody at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center. A judge modified his release conditions to a $2,500 bond on Jan. 22, which was posted the same day. Gonzalez was transferred into ICE custody one day later.
According to ICE, Gonzalez first entered the U.S. in 2019 and was deported to Cuba. He re-entered the country in 2022 and had been reporting to ICE check-ins in Charlotte before his arrest.
Gonzalez’s death marks the 18th reported death of a person in ICE custody so far this year. ICE reported 31 detainee deaths in 2025, the highest annual total in two decades.
