Santos Reyes-Banegas
Santos Reyes-Banegas, a 42-year-old man from Honduras and the father of two children, died on September 18, 2025, while held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, New York. Police were called to the jail early that morning and found him not breathing in his cell, and a police medic pronounced him dead. ICE says the preliminary cause appears to be liver failure complicated by alcoholism, and that he had been at the facility for fewer than 18 hours after passing medical intake. His family says relatives were not told anything by the jail or immigration authorities, and the New York Attorney General's Office is investigating the circumstances of his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (neglect alleged). ICE says the preliminary cause is liver failure complicated by alcoholism, and a federal report found that staff provided inadequate medical care.
Reported by: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (the agency that held him); New York State Office of the Attorney General, Office of Special Investigation (outside investigators); federal report.
News reports (8)
- Detainee Death Report: Reyes, Banegas
- New York Attorney General, Office of Special Investigation data tables
- Man found not breathing in Nassau County jail cell, pronounced dead
- ICE detainee dies in Nassau jail, officials confirm
- ICE Confirms Inmate Who Died At LI Correctional Facility Was A Detainee Who Entered U.S. Illegally 4X
- Honduran national in ICE custody passes away
- Nassau's jail needs basic level of oversight
- ICE report: Detainee who died at Nassau jail didn't get adequate medical care