Overview

• ICE says Xie became unresponsive around 2:13 p.m. inside the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, where staff performed CPR and used an AED before EMS transported him.
• He was pronounced dead at El Centro Regional Medical Center at 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 29 after what officials described as an apparent seizure.
• Xie, a Chinese national, had been transferred to ICE custody on Sept. 13 following a Border Patrol arrest in Indio, with a prior 2023 arrest near Tecate and release.
• ICE stated it notified the DHS Office of Inspector General, ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Chinese consulate in accordance with policy.
• The case comes as watchdogs note rising in-custody fatalities, with two deaths at ICE facilities in California reported since Sept. 22.