A Chinese woman detained by U.S. border officers for overstaying a visitor visa died by suicide while being held at a border patrol station in Arizona, according to a Democratic congresswoman.
The woman had been taken into custody in California after officers determined that she had overstayed a visitor visa, as stated by Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, citing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. She was subsequently transferred to a patrol station in Yuma, Arizona.
Ms. Jayapal, who serves as a ranking member of the House subcommittee overseeing immigration, expressed concerns regarding initial reports from the agency that raised questions about whether officers had properly conducted welfare checks on the woman. While welfare checks were logged, officials at the agency investigating the death could not confirm the actual occurrence of these checks, according to Ms. Jayapal.
“There is no excuse for why agents cannot verify if some of the necessary welfare checks occurred — or why some of the documented welfare checks were incorrectly reported,” Ms. Jayapal stated, emphasizing her concerns about the conditions in facilities where immigrants are detained. “Another preventable death only increases that concern,” she added.
The woman had been in the country on a B-1/B-2 visa, which is a temporary visa for individuals visiting the United States for tourism or business purposes.
The Customs and Border Protection agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the agency confirmed the death of a 52-year-old woman, stating that she had become “unresponsive in a cell” at the Yuma Border Patrol Station.
Border Patrol staff provided medical assistance to the woman, and emergency medical services transported her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An office overseeing the agency’s conduct is investigating the incident, and the agency has also reported the death to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
The exact circumstances surrounding the woman’s initial detainment remain unclear. Border Patrol officials for the Yuma sector, which includes parts of California and Arizona, reported last week on social media that they had arrested two Chinese individuals, including a 52-year-old woman, in Needles, California, on March 26.
According to the social media post, agents searched a minivan during a vehicle stop and found that the two Chinese nationals were “illegally present in the U.S.” The agency had intended to charge them under a law that renders certain individuals ineligible to receive a visa or enter the country, including on grounds of suspected money laundering or other criminal activity.
Additionally, over $220,000 in cash was seized from the van, which the agency believed was linked to illegal activity. However, it was not immediately confirmed whether the woman arrested in Needles was the same individual who died while in custody.