ICE says 42-year-old immigrant who died in Nassau jail had 'liver failure' that may have led to death

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday that Santos Banegas Reyes, the 42-year-old immigrant father of two who died in a Nassau County jail cell last week, may have died of liver failure, an assertion the family disputes.

ICE wrote in a news release on Tuesday that Banegas Reyes' "cause of death is still under investigation. However, the preliminary cause appears to be liver failure complicated by alcoholism." The federal agency said the Honduran national, whom the agency referred to as Santos Reyes-Banegas, had illegally entered the country "at least four times."

But his sister called ICE's explanation "absurd," saying he had no major health problems that the family was aware of, and demanded a full accounting of his death.

"How could he die so quickly? That is absurd,"