A Honduran immigrant — arrested after being mistaken for another undocumented worker by ICE agents — died in federal custody earlier this month because of inadequate medical treatment, his family’s lawyer alleges.
Rolando Meza Espinoza, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on April 1, died on June 10 in the Jersey City Medical Center’s intensive care unit, the family’s lawyer Manuel Portela told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Meza, 35, a father of three, suffered from several chronic illnesses, including cirrhosis of the liver, anemia and diabetes.
ICE did not respond to requests for comment regarding Meza’s death.
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In a June 12 statement posted on its website, however, the agency noted that 10 people had died in ICE custody during fiscal year 2017. Among those was a Salvadoran immigrant in the agency’s custody, identified as Carlos Mejia-Bonilla.
Portela said the man identified as Mejia-Bonilla is in fact Meza — because, he said, Meza used Mejia-Bonilla’s ID when he came into the U.S. nearly two decades ago.
ICE sent Portela a letter on June 14 informing him of “Carlos Armando MEJIA-BONILLA’s death” from internal bleeding, a document obtained by the Daily News shows.
“I extend to you and your family the deepest sympathies of our entire agency for your loss,” wrote Thomas Decker, field director of ICE’s New York Field Office. “Please accept our deepest condolences for your loss.”
A Honduran immigrant — arrested after being mistaken for another undocumented worker by ICE agents — died in federal custody earlier this month because of inadequate medical treatment, his family’s lawyer alleges.
Rolando Meza Espinoza, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on April 1, died on June 10 in the Jersey City Medical Center’s intensive care unit, the family’s lawyer Manuel Portela told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Meza, 35, a father of three, suffered from several chronic illnesses, including cirrhosis of the liver, anemia and diabetes.
ICE did not respond to requests for comment regarding Meza’s death.
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In a June 12 statement posted on its website, however, the agency noted that 10 people had died in ICE custody during fiscal year 2017. Among those was a Salvadoran immigrant in the agency’s custody, identified as Carlos Mejia-Bonilla.
Portela said the man identified as Mejia-Bonilla is in fact Meza — because, he said, Meza used Mejia-Bonilla’s ID when he came into the U.S. nearly two decades ago.
ICE sent Portela a letter on June 14 informing him of “Carlos Armando MEJIA-BONILLA’s death” from internal bleeding, a document obtained by the Daily News shows.
“I extend to you and your family the deepest sympathies of our entire agency for your loss,” wrote Thomas Decker, field director of ICE’s New York Field Office. “Please accept our deepest condolences for your loss.”
Portela cited the ICE news release in discussing the circumstances surrounding Meza’s death.
While detained in ICE’s Hudson County Correctional Facility, Meza experienced “gastrointestinal bleeding” and was taken to Jersey City Medical Center on June 8, Portela said.
Meza had told his family and lawyers that he was only being medicated for diabetes — not anemia or cirrhosis — despite asking a nurse for additional medications, Portela said.
Two days after he went into intensive care, Meza died from “internal bleeding and hemorrhagic shock,” the lawyer said.
His family found out on June 12, when they called to check on him — only to be told he was dead, Portela said.
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