A French national, born in Angola, died while in detention by the US immigration service. The 40-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, died on Sunday December 29 at the hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to a statement from the Immigration and Immigration Services. Customs Enforcement (ICE), released Wednesday.
"An autopsy is underway to determine the official cause of death"added the ICE, adding that the French consular services had been notified and that they were trying to "Locate your family". Questioned by the agency France-press (AFP), a spokeswoman for the French Embassy in the United States said she was unable to comment " at this stage ".
According to the news site BuzzFeed, the Frenchman, has been detained by the US Immigration Service since November 12, and has been in the Torrance County Detention Center since December 11. The day after his arrival, he was transferred to the hospital for treatment. It was there that he died last Sunday.
Others died in detention
The death follows that of Nebane Abienwi, a 37-year-old Cameroonian who died in October of a brain hemorrhage while detained by the ICE in San Diego, California. Also in October, a Cuban national, Roylan Hernandez-Diaz, 53, apparently committed suicide while he was detained by the ICE in Lousianne, according to these immigration services. Between December 2018 and May 2019, five children from Guatemala also died in detention after being arrested by American immigration officers.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority. It has taken numerous steps to limit the influx of rapidly increasing migrants to the southern border with the United States, but several of them, controversial, have been blocked by the courts. In mid-December, the US immigration authorities detained approximately 42,000 people.
