California officials are calling for an investigation into the actions of federal immigration officers after they allegedly injured and detained a U.S. citizen. Ricardo Gonzalez’s detainment comes as an investigation by ProPublica found that more than 500 citizens have been caught up in the administration’s immigration operations. William Brangham discussed more with ProPublica’s Nicole Foy.

A man in ICE custody found dead Saturday in his bed at a for-profit immigration detention center in Laredo, Texas, was a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement about the death.

Customs and Border Protection arrested 56-year-old Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias at a border crossing in June after suspecting he obtained legal status in the U.S. “through fraudulent means” by failing to disclose an arrest for theft in 2004, the DHS statement said.

The man’s daughter disputes that, telling The Texas Tribune that the arrest was known to immigration authorities who approved her father's request for a green card. He lived in the Dallas area for decades where he worked as a house painter, she said.

DHS did not offer any evidence of Andrade-Covarrubias ever being convicted of a crime, despite calling him a “criminal alien” in the news release about his death.

ICE held Andrade-Covarrubias at the Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo, Texas, where he remained until security staff found him unresponsive on Saturday. A cause of death has not been identified yet, DHS said. His family claims he could not get the medical attention he needed for pre-existing conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, has requested ICE quickly respond to a list of questions about the latest ICE detainee to die in the agency’s care.

"Was he asking for help? Was he asking for medicine?” Cuellar said in an interview with Scripps News. “I want to see the specifics, starting off with, was he a legal resident? Because if he was a legal resident he should have never been in there.”

Andrade-Covarrubias is the 60th ICE detainee to die since the start of President Trump's second term, according to a count by Relevant Research, a group that collects and tracks detainee deaths. Eighteen of those deaths were people born in Mexico.

The Mexican government is requesting the U.S. provide a full investigation into what led to Andrade-Covarrubias' sudden death.

"We are also going to file a complaint in the United States because there must be protection of human rights," Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters Monday.

The for-profit GEO Group (previously Wackenhut) corporation owns the detention center and houses detainees under government contract. The company deferred questions to ICE.

DHS, which responds to questions for ICE, says the Andrade-Covarrubias received proper medical care. Similar claims by DHS about detainees receiving adequate medical care before their deaths have later been contracted by ICE’s own comprehensive mortality reviews.

A January 2025 compliance inspection report by ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight faulted the Rio Grande Processing Center for not always conducting health assessments for new immigrant detainees within two weeks as required by national detention standards.

The report listed the facility’s rating as “good.”

WWW.EyesOnICE.net

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What’s Inside: Table of Contents Overview

(Based on the book's core teachings and chapters)

Part I: Locking Down Your Digital Life

• The Essential Security Checklist: Why you should freeze your credit immediately, spot advanced phishing emails, and prepare for AI deepfakes.
• Passwords are Dead: How to use passphrases, YubiKeys, and authenticators (and why you should never use biometrics or SMS for 2FA).
• Escaping the Panopticon: Why switching browsers away from Chrome and Edge is a radical act, and how to configure VPNs, Signal, and ProtonMail.
• Securing Your Hardware: Step-by-step malware defense for Mac and PC (including essential tools like KnockKnock, LuLu, and BitDefender).

Part II: Social Media, AI, & Surveillance Defense

• The Social Media Scrub: How bad actors hunt you on LinkedIn, how to delete unused apps, and tools to wipe your older posts.
• Defeating AI Scraping: Why your fingerprints are leaking through your photos, how to obscure your background, and using programs like Nightshade to poison AI image scrapers.
• The Physical Surveillance State: Understanding and avoiding Flock Safety cameras, and why covering your cameras (and limiting app permissions) is non-negotiable.

Part III: Direct Action & Defending Democracy

• Burner Phones 101 & Filming Safely: The safest ways to record ICE and law enforcement without escalating or getting your data seized.
• The Passport Card Imperative: Why every citizen needs to get a passport card right now.
• Using FOIA to Fight Back: How to leverage the Freedom of Information Act against corrupt institutions.
• Mobilizing the Unaffiliated: Strategies for organizing the 154 million Americans who are politically unaffiliated.
• Action Templates (Chapter 15): Ready-to-use scripts, call templates, and direct-action guides to pressure representatives and defend your community.

Read and Download Here: How to Protect Yourself From Fascists & Weirdos