A memorial mass in remembrance of an undocumented immigrant from Honduras who died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody will be held Friday at Our Lady Soledad Catholic Church in Coachella.
The memorial will take place at 6 p.m. Friday at 52980 Cesar Chavez St.
On Jan. 6, at 1:18 a.m., Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz died of heart-related issues at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio, at 47111 Monroe St., according to ICE’s website.
Yanez-Cruz was held at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico on Jan. 4 when he was transferred to the facility’s medical unit to be evaluated for chest pain. He was later taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center and then to the Indio hospital via helicopter for a higher level of care, the agency stated.
Yanez-Cruz was arrested on Nov. 16, 2025 during an ICE targeted enforcement operation in Newark, New Jersey. He was previously arrested in 1993 in Texas on suspicion of illegal entry, and re-entered the country at an unknown date without authorization, authorities said.
He was being held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
A GoFund me page was set up to send his body back to Honduras. The page can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/luis-beltran-yanez-cruz.
Attendees not able to make it to the memorial in person may watch it on the church’s YouTube channel.