"His name was Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas. He was Mexican, 32 years old, and was declared dead on August 31 while detained at the Central Arizona Correctional Complex in Florence. Batrez joins an infamous list. Since 2019, 69 migrants have died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since Donald Trump won the election in November 2024 alone, 14 people have died in ICE facilities, three of them Mexican."
"According to a fundraising page his family in the United States has set up to transport his body and arrange for his burial, he died alone, likely due to complications from Covid-19, without receiving the medical attention he deserved. No family should have to wonder if their loved one's life could have been spared with more compassion, more care, or more justice, the statement reads."
"His name joins those of Chaofeng Ge, Tien Xuan Phan, Isidro Perez, Johnny Noviello, Jesus Molina Veya, Abelardo Avelleneda Delgado, Marie Ange Blaise, Nguyen Nhon Ngoc, Brayan Rayo Garzon, Maksym Chernyak, Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, Genry Ruiz Guillen, and Ramesh Amechand. Migrants from Mexico, Guyana, Canada, Ukraine, Ethiopia, China, El Salvador, and Haiti, ranging in age from 27 to 75, many of whom had called the United States home for decades."
Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, a 32-year-old Mexican known as Lenchito, was declared dead on August 31 while detained at the Central Arizona Correctional Complex in Florence. Since 2019, 69 migrants have died in ICE custody; since November 2024, 14 people have died in ICE facilities, including three Mexicans. Family fundraising indicates he likely died alone from Covid-19 complications without receiving proper medical attention. The death joins a list of migrants from multiple countries and ages 27–75, including a 75-year-old Cuban who died of a heart attack and a 46-year-old Mexican who killed himself after repeated deportations. A policy of cruelty is implicated.
Read at english.elpais.com
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