Mistaken Identity Leads to Immigrant's Death
Posted on Oct 23, 2017 9:00am PDT
Construction worker Carlos Mejia-Bonilla was arrested in Long Island by
immigration officers. He told the detaining officers that they had the
wrong person, but was locked up Hudson County Correctional Facility anyway.
Unfortunately, he died 10 weeks later.
Members of his family feel that inadequate medical care might have contributed
to his early demise. However,
immigration officials have since stated that Mejia-Bonilla, who was 47 years old,
died of complications related to a previous medical condition.
While he was in jail, Mejia-Bonilla told his family he was worried that
he wasn’t receiving enough medical care or attention for his illnesses,
which consisted of diabetes, anemia, and cirrhosis of the liver. According
to the family’s attorney, he was going to file a formal complaint
after a phone call with his family.
Sadly, Mejia-Bonilla died before filing the complaint. In fact, his family
only learned of his worsening condition because he did not appear at court.
After tracking down an officer, they were informed that he had been taken
Jersey City Medical Center. Because he was a federal detainee, they were
unable to visit him in the hospital. However, his brother was able to
sneak a peak through the doorway to witness a semi-conscious and sedated
man who could not speak.
Carlos Mejia-Bonilla was first arrested on April 1, 2017. He died on June
10, 2017. As of now the family is still waiting for the results of the
autopsy. According to their lawyer, they are going to hold the authorities
accountable for the lack of proper medical care that is believed to have
caused Mejia-Bonilla death.
It should be noted that in previous years, immigration officers would have
likely let Mejia-Bonilla go. However, because of new guidance from the
Trump administration, ICE officers have been given leeway to arrest any
undocumented immigrants they encounter.
Do you have questions about immigration? Contact our New York team of attorneys
to learn how we can help you today.