A 52-year-old Chinese woman, detained by U.S. Border Patrol for overstaying her visa, reportedly took her own life while in custody at an Arizona station. U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal has alleged that the officers failed to conduct mandatory welfare checks on the woman, leading to her death.
The woman was apprehended in California after authorities discovered she had overstayed her B1/B2 visitor visa. Following her arrest, she was transferred to the Yuma station in Arizona, where she remained in custody until her untimely death on March 29.
According to allegations, Border Patrol officials did not adhere to internal policies regarding the public disclosure of deaths occurring in their custody. A public notice about the woman’s death was only released after the Tucson Sentinel reported on the incident.
Surveillance footage reportedly captured the woman fashioning a noose and placing it around her neck. Disturbingly, there was no medical response for two hours after she hanged herself.
A Border Patrol spokesperson informed the Tucson Sentinel that when the woman was discovered “unresponsive in a cell,” the agency provided medical assistance and arranged for her to be transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The spokesperson emphasized that all in-custody deaths are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated by the agency.
Earlier, the Border Patrol’s Yuma sector had reported the arrest of two Chinese nationals, including the woman, on March 26 during a vehicle stop in California. The agency confiscated over $220,000 concealed in aluminum foil in their bags, alleging that the money was the proceeds from unspecified illegal activities.
Jayapal, a senior member of the House subcommittee overseeing immigration, stated that preliminary reports suggest that the Border Patrol agents involved did not conduct the necessary welfare checks in the days leading up to the woman’s death. The logged welfare checks could not be confirmed by officials investigating the suicide.
Jayapal further stated that the U.S.’s failure to “treat all detained people with dignity and fairness” raises concerns about the conditions at the facilities where immigrants are being held.