ICE Detainee Found Dead at Miami Correctional Facility

MIAMI COUNTY, Ind.–A Cambodian detainee named Lorth Sim was found dead in his cell on Monday while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Miami Correctional Facility.

Sim was found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead at 7:10 a.m. ICE stated that Sim entered the U.S. under refugee status in 1983 and had a history of arrests. Investigators are trying to figure out how he died. He was 59.

“I have spoken to officials at the Department of Correction and urged them to conduct a thorough investigation of the death of this detainee. We need to ensure that our procedures and medical contractors are up to the task of appropriately caring for people in ICE custody,” said Delaney.

Delaney says he’s noticed that public trust in ICE is near zero.

“Since the state of Indiana has decided to allow ICE to use our facilities, it is incumbent on us to ensure that the conditions in that facility are up to standard. Over the last few months, I have visited Miami Correctional Facility three times to see for myself that detainees are receiving proper treatment. I will continue to monitor this situation until we have a full public report of what happened to this detainee and receive proper assurance there was no systemic failure that could cost another person their life,” said Delaney.

ICE leaders say Sim entered the United States as a refugee in 1983 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1986. He was arrested three separate times through the years on charges of disorderly conduct, indecent exposure and larceny. He reportedly received a suspended sentence, but no prison time, on those charges.

In 2006, ICE then arrested Sim and officials say an immigration judge ordered his removal to Cambodia.

Investigators say ICE encountered Sims on Dec. 30, 2025, while inside an office lobby in Boston, Massachusetts, and he was transferred a few days later to Chicago, pursuant to a warrant of removal.

Sims was then ultimately transferred to the Miami Correctional Facility.

According to the DHS website, the two-year partnership between the agency and the state of Indiana has allowed for 1,000 beds to be used at the Miami County facility to house ICE detainees like Sims.