Following his discovery on the bus, staff requested medical assistance and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Irwin County Detention Center, where he was initially held, resumed detaining immigrants last year.
The Biden administration had terminated the facility's ICE contract in 2021 following whistleblower allegations of medical abuse.
In 2020, the site gained notoriety over allegations that detained women were subjected to non-consensual gynecological procedures.
A 2022 Senate subcommittee investigation concluded that female detainees appeared to have undergone excessive and unnecessary procedures.
Arenas-Silva's death follows the late June passing of Adrian Andreas Florian, an 85-year-old German national who died in a Texas hospital while in ICE custody.
The DHS has expanded its detention capacity since the second Trump administration took office last year. Consequently, ICE custody deaths have reached record numbers since January 2025.
In 2025, ICE reported 33 detainee deaths, marking the highest annual total in over two decades.
These fatalities have drawn international criticism from human rights organizations.
>>> Starmer's Valedictory Week Highlights Foreign Policy Wins
In late June, Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, raised concerns regarding US immigration custody deaths and demanded swift, independent investigations.
