A migrant died in Border Patrol custody after being apprehended with a hurt ankle. A statement on the incident gives little details on how the man died, other than saying he acted in a βcombative and agitated mannerβ before his death that agents suspect was related to the ingestion of drugs.
Border Patrol agents at the Ajo station apprehended seven undocumented migrants about 39 miles outside of the Lukeville port of entry on Jan. 13 at 11 a.m., according to a Feb. 27 statement from Customs and Border Protection.
The statement gives the following account:
One of the migrants, a Mexican national, injured his ankle while trying to elude the agents. Agents requested medical assistance, and an agent certified as an Emergency Medical Technician came by helicopter to treat the man.
The agent conducted two medical evaluations, and during the second, noticed increased bruising and slight swelling on the manβs foot.
Agents transported the group to a CBP facility for processing, then to the Ajo Border Patrol Station in Why. The injured migrant was accompanied by the EMT as they went over rough terrain and mountain roads, arriving at the station around 3:15 p.m., where the man was evaluated by other medical personnel.
The man said the pain in his ankle extended up his leg to his pelvis and there was swelling. The medical personnel recommended the man be transported to the emergency room for x-rays and further evaluation. He initially said he didnβt want additional medical treatment and signed a patient medical refusal form. Later, the man reportedly changed his mind and requested additional medical care.
While the migrant was waiting to be transported to the hospital, he told an agent he felt like vomiting. Over a trash can, he stuck his finger in his mouth to induce vomiting but did not.
Agents handcuffed the migrant, with his hands in front, to transfer him to the Abrazo Buckeye Emergency Medical Center in Buckeye. While he was in the rear passenger seat of the Border Patrol pickup truck, he reportedly became agitated and began to kick the inside of the vehicle.
The agent stopped at the State Route 85 immigration checkpoint, 35 miles north of the Ajo Station, for assistance from other agents, and two other agents reported the man was acting in a βcombative and agitated mannerβ while sitting in the back seat.
He was grasping the front of his T-shirt and appeared to be sweating. The agents suspected the manβs behavior may have been related to the ingestion of drugs, the statement said. They offered him water and tried to calm him down while calling for emergency medical services from the Ajo Border Patrol Station. As well, the supervisory agent called 911, but by that point the migrant had calmed down, and the agent said they no longer needed emergency medical services.
The man told the agent he was OK, and they headed toward the hospital about 59 miles away.
They got to the hospital about an hour later, at nearly 6:30. The agents said the man had been calm the remainder of the trip and thought he was sleeping, but when they went to wake him, he was unresponsive and pronounced dead shortly after.
The Maricopa County Medical Examinerβs Office performed an autopsy on Jan. 15. The cause of death and toxicology report are pending further investigation.
One pending autopsy case at the Maricopa County Medical Examinerβs Office says a man named Martin Peraza-Perez, 34, was in Border Patrol custody the day he died on Jan. 13.
A man with that same name and age was convicted of unauthorized re-entry into the country on or around July 25, 2022. He had been previously removed from the country three times and had also been convicted in Maricopa County Superior Court on a 2013 felony of marijuana transport and/or sale, according to a complaint in the case.
CBPβs Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the Jan. 13 incident.
Republicans say they are at the border to get ideas on solutions to border issues. But they donβt say what those solutions are.Β
