Chinese woman detained for expired visa dies by suicide at Border Patrol station in Arizona

A Chinese woman detained by border patrol officers for overstaying her visa died by suicide at the US Border Patrol station in Arizona after officers reportedly failed to perform required welfare checks on her, US Representative Pramila Jayapal alleged.

The woman, a 52-year-old Chinese national, was picked up in California after authorities determined she overstayed her B1/B2 visitor visa, Jayapal said in a statement last week. She was sent to the Yuma station in Arizona and was detained there until her sudden death on March 29.

The patrol officials allegedly neglected to follow internal policies about publicly acknowledging deaths when they occur in their custody and only published a public notice after the Tucson Sentinel reported on the woman’s death on Friday.

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.

A border patrol spokesperson told the Tucson Sentinel that when the woman was found “unresponsive in a cell,” they did provide her with medical assistance and had emergency medical services transport her to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

“All in-custody deaths are tragic, taken seriously, and are thoroughly investigated by CBP,” the spokesperson said.

Previously, the Yuma sector border patrol reported that they arrested two Chinese nationals, a 38-year-old man and the woman, on March 26 during a vehicle stop in California. They seized more than $220,000 hidden in aluminum foil in their bags, which officials claimed was the earnings from unspecified illegal activity, according to a Facebook post from the sector.

Jayapal, a Democrat representative from Washington and a ranking member of the House subcommittee that oversees immigration, said that early reports indicate that the border patrol agents involved didn’t perform the necessary welfare checks in the days leading up to the woman’s death.

The welfare checks that were logged couldn’t be verified by officials investigating the woman’s suicide.

“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,” Jayapal said in a statement.

Jayapal added that the shift in the United States’ failure to “treat all detained people with dignity and fairness” raises concerns about the conditions at the facilities where immigrants are being held.

The Post has reached out to US Border Patrol for comment.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.