A man dies in a U.S. immigration detention center, under unusual circumstances. He is found unresponsive in his cell, with a sock stuffed down his throat. His death is ruled a suicide, but little information is put out about what happened, and the family wants answers. In this first part of a special two-part series, Latino USA investigates why José de Jesús died in the custody of the U.S. government, and what his death tells us about conditions —especially mental health services— inside the immigration detention system.

For more about José’s story, visit Latino USA’s special report originally published on July 15, 2016.

Featured image by Fernanda Echávarri/Latino USA.

This episode was produced by Fernanda Echavarri and Marlon Bishop. Work on this episode from Leda Hartman, Michael Simon Johnson, Schuyler Swenson, Zakiya Gibbons and production assistance from Julia Shu. Original music for this episode was composed by Noam Hassenfeld. It was mixed by Cornelius McMoyler. The investigation was reported with assistance from the Marshall Project.