A 52-year-old Chinese woman detained by U.S. Border Patrol in Arizona has died by suicide, prompting serious concerns about the conditions within detention facilities. The woman had overstayed her B1/B2 visitor visa. Local ICE authorities first arrested her in California, then transported her to the Yuma border patrol station in Arizona, where she stayed until her death on March 29.
On March 26, police arrested the woman during a routine vehicle stop near Needles, California. She had been in the company of a 38-year-old male, also a Chinese national. Both individuals were detained for unspecified reasons. During the arrest, Border Patrol agents seized over $220,000 concealed in aluminum foil. In particular, they think this cash is derived from illegal activities.
After her arrest, authorities transferred the woman to the Yuma station. On March 29, those officers found her unresponsive in her cell. Border Patrol personnel rushed to administer emergency medical aid. Sadly, she was declared dead after being taken to the hospital.
What is most alarming has been the apparent lack of adherence to established protocols by Border Patrol and other officials that surrounds her death. According to news reports, the agency for weeks failed to bring public attention to the woman’s death. What the Tucson Sentinel originally flagged was a pretty substantive problem. In this case, the procedures for publicly acknowledging a death in custody were ignored.
Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said she was extremely disturbed by the incident and the environment in detention centers. She called attention to the duty that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have to provide for the health of everyone they detain.
“When Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents take a person into custody, they are responsible for their well-being, full stop.” – Pramila Jayapal
Jayapal further criticized the handling of the case, stating, “As the CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigates this death, they must provide answers on why these welfare checks were not conducted and falsely recorded, and why this woman was able to die by suicide without any guard intervention.”
A spokesperson for Border Patrol acknowledged the tragedy of the incident and asserted that all in-custody deaths are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.
“All in-custody deaths are tragic, taken seriously, and are thoroughly investigated by CBP.” – Border Patrol Spokesperson