Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias, 56, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo during a routine security check around 10 a.m. Saturday. Staff performed CPR and called emergency services, but he did not survive. Senate Judiciary Democrats announced the death on Tuesday, putting the toll at 27 deaths in ICE custody in 2026 and 60 since President Trump returned to the White House.
Andrade-Covarrubias had lived in Dallas for decades, working as a contractor painting apartments and townhomes. A Mexican national and lawful permanent resident, he was the father of three adult children, all U.S. citizens. He had been travelling back and forth to Mexico, where he was building a house he hoped to retire to, and was detained in June after returning by bus.
His daughter, Estefani Andrade, 29, says he arrived at the facility with the medication he took for a heart condition, diabetes and high blood pressure — and that staff would not give it to him. He told her he was having trouble breathing and felt tightness in his chest, and that medical staff "would just ignore him." He carried a lingering cough from a 2021 COVID-19 hospitalization, and on their video calls he had visibly lost weight. "He didn't look the same," she said.
The family was never contacted by any federal agency. They learned of his death from the Webb County Medical Examiner's Office, which is conducting the autopsy; the cause of death remains pending. The family planned to travel to the facility to collect his belongings, and his wife is devastated — "It's hitting her really hard," Estefani said.
His is the seventh death in ICE custody in Texas this year, and the second in Laredo, where Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez, 63, died in June after being found unresponsive at the Webb County Detention Center. The Rio Grande Processing Center is operated by GEO Group under contract with ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service and holds roughly 1,900 people. GEO Group and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, who confirmed the death, says he has inspected the facility and submitted seven written questions to ICE about the case. Mexico's Foreign Ministry has demanded a "prompt, thorough and transparent" investigation, saying 18 Mexican nationals have died in U.S. custody or during immigration operations since January 20, 2025.