Alison Stewart:

On Tuesday, a Cuban seeking asylum in the U.S., who had been in ICE custody in Louisiana for months, died by an apparent suicide. Roylan Hernandez-Diaz had been on a hunger strike and had claimed abuse in prison.

Louisiana has become a center of America's migrant detainee effort, housing almost 8,000 of the more than 51,000 people currently behind bars. Many of them are held in remote prisons and jails, far from legal representation.

Reporting in cooperation with the New Orleans Advocate and ITVS, NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Joanne Elgart-Jennings has the story, the first in our two-part report.