An elderly man in the country illegally, whose lawyers said he had preexisting health conditions and should be released from detention to avoid the coronavirus, died by suicide at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in California Sunday night.
Immigration attorneys from the Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, California, said they were informed of Choung Won Ahn’s death this week.
“We are devastated and angered by Mr. Ahn’s death,” said Priya Patel, supervising attorney with Centro Legal de la Raza. “They knew that he was medically vulnerable. They knew that he had a history of mental illness. His life was in their hands.”
The lawyers requested in March, one month after he was admitted to the facility, that ICE release Ahn from the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield, California, because his preexisting health conditions put him at greater risk if he contracted the coronavirus. Ahn had diabetes, hypertension, and multiple heart issues, the lawyers said in a statement.
ICE may detain immigrants arrested as a result of illegally residing in the United States and hold detainees in federal custody until a federal judge determines whether they will be deported or released.
Over the past month, the Bakersfield facility has released an unspecified number of detainees who had preexisting conditions, according to the San Francisco Public Defender’s office and other immigrant advocate organizations.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment, and Ahn’s lawyers did not disclose his country of origin.
“We are processing, and we are very emotionally upset,” said Young Ahn, the brother to the deceased. “We are angry.”
As of May 9, ICE reported 27,908 people in detention. Of that number, 2,172 people have undergone coronavirus testing, and 1,073 have tested positive at more than 50 facilities where immigrants are held.
