Chinese woman detained by US border patrol in Arizona dies by suicide

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Chinese woman detained by US border patrol in Arizona dies by suicide

A woman detained by U.S. border officers for overstaying a visitor visa died by suicide while in custody, according to a Democratic congresswoman.


The U.S. Customs and Border Protection border patrol station in Yuma, Ariz. Google

By Isabella Kwai
April 4, 2025
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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, a Democratic congresswoman said. ... The woman had been taken into custody in California after officers determined that she had overstayed a visitor visa, Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington said in a statement, citing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. She was transferred to a patrol station in Yuma, Ariz., the statement said.

Ms. Jayapal, a ranking member of the House subcommittee overseeing immigration, said initial reports from the agency had raised concerns 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 verify whether the checks had actually happened, Ms. Jayapal said. ... “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 said, adding that she was concerned about the conditions in facilities where immigrants are detained. ... “Another preventable death only increases that concern,” she said.

{snip}

The exact circumstances around the woman’s initial detainment were not immediately clear. Border Patrol officials for the Yuma sector, which includes parts of California and Arizona, said last week on social media that they had arrested two Chinese people, one of them a 52-year-old woman, in Needles, Calif., on March 26.

According to the post, agents searched a minivan during a vehicle stop and discovered that two Chinese nationals were “illegally present in the U.S.” The agency had planned to charge the two people under a law that makes certain people ineligible to receive a visa or enter the country, including on the grounds of suspected money laundering or other criminal activity. ... More than $220,000 in cash was also seized from the van, and the agency said it believed the cash was linked to illegal activity. But it was not immediately clear on Friday whether the woman arrested in Needles was the same woman who died while in custody.

Christine Hauser contributed reporting.

Isabella Kwai is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news and other trends. More about Isabella Kwai

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

1. expired visa doesn't seem like something worth dying for

pretty sure this doesn't fit Laboulaye's idea of friendship

[Quakerfriend]

2. This is very sad. A very large % of people who

emigrated to the US, who now may have green cards or citizenship, overstayed their visas.

The law says that anyone who EVER overstayed broke the law & can be deported for this- Tho this has hardly happened in the past several years.

This has now become a convenient way for them to kick people out. If you are deported, you must wait 10 years before you can return legally through sponsorship.