US: Chinese woman detained over expired visa commits suicide at Arizona Patrol Station

Jayapal said authorities failed to perform the required welfare checks on her.

Reacting to the development, US Representative Pramila Jayapal said in a statement: "When Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents take a person into custody, they are responsible for their well-being, full stop. This detainee died by suicide, and initial reports have indicated that certain CBP procedures to ensure the safety and welfare of individuals in custody were not conducted. 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.

“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," Pramila said.

“Last year in Washington State, two detained persons died at the Northwest Immigrant Processing Center (NWIPC). I remain incredibly concerned about the conditions at these facilities. Another preventable death only increases that concern. Reports have consistently shown that the United States falls far short of its obligations to treat all detained people with dignity and fairness," Jayapal said.

Jayapal said she had overstayed a B1/B2 visitor visa.

She was detained after being transferred to Arizona.

Speaking on the incident further, Jayapal said: "According to information provided by CBP, logs note that multiple welfare checks were conducted, however, CBP OPR was unable to verify if those checks actually occurred, and for some of them, a Border Patrol Processing Coordinator (BPPC) stated that he did not conduct the logged checks. Surveillance footage showed the woman create a noose and tie it around her neck, yet no medical response occurred for nearly two hours."

Not Visible In Video Cameras

Meanwhile, a CBP spokesperson told the Sentinel on Friday that the woman was out of view of video cameras when she took her own life.

The spokesman said a 52-year-old woman was "unresponsive in a cell" at the Yuma Border Patrol Station on Saturday.

"Emergency Medical Services were called to the station and transported the woman to the local hospital, where she was pronounced deceased," the spokesman told the news portal.

American newspaper New York Post, reported that surveillance footage reportedly showed the woman making a noose and tying it around her neck.

Shockingly, there was no medical response for two hours after she hung herself, the newspaper reported.

Two Chinese Nationals Arrested

Before the death of the woman, US Border Patrol Yuma Sector said in a Facebook post that two Chinese nationals were arrested and more than $220,000 was seized during a vehicle stop Wednesday on Interstate 40 near Needles, California.

"The Chinese nationals – a 38-year-old male and a 52-year-old female – were arrested and will be charged with alien inadmissibility under 8 U.S.C. 1182. The cash was believed to be proceeds from illegal activity and was seized for laundering under 18 U.S.C 1956," read the Facebook post.

(With inputs from IBNS)