A Honduran man who lived and worked in the US for 26 years has died after being held in an immigration detention center in California for more than a month, and his family wants an investigation, saying he complained of deteriorating health conditions before his death.
Luis Beltrán Yanez-Cruz, 68, died on Jan. 6 at 1:18 a.m. at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio after suffering from heart-related health problems, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. He was being held at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico before being transferred to a hospital.
Federal officials said Yanez-Cruz “came in” during a Nov. 16 law enforcement operation in Newark, NJ, but he was not the target of the operation, his daughter said. He was included in the removal proceedings, which were pending at the time of his death.
A photo of Luis Beltrán Yanez-Cruz, 68, is displayed during his memorial service. Yanez-Cruz died this month in ICE custody.
Her daughter, Josselyn Yanez, accuses ICE of not taking her concerns seriously and not providing medical care as her health deteriorated. In a statement, ICE said Yanez-Cruz was admitted to the facility’s medical unit for chest pains before being transferred to El Centro Regional Medical Center. He was then airlifted to Indio.
“There must be an investigation because this is unusual,” said Yanez. “He started having symptoms a few weeks ago; they must have done something.
In response to the family’s claims, a Homeland Security official said in a statement, “ICE has higher detention standards than most US prisons that hold naturalized US citizens. All detainees are provided 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, and toilets, and have access to telephones to contact their family members and lawyers.”
Luis Beltrán Yanez-Cruz was being held at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico before being hospitalized in Indio.
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Last September, another detainee at the facility died after collapsing at the facility, ICE officials said.
Regarding Yanez-Cruz, officials said he entered the US illegally and was arrested near Eagle Pass, Texas, in June 1993 and removed from the US Between 1999 and 2012, the agency said, he applied for temporary protection but was denied.
Yanez said claims that his father was deported and not granted TPS are false. He said his father was granted TPS when he entered the US in 1999, and it allowed him to visit Honduras at least twice. He said his condition had deteriorated because he could not revive it.
On November 16 his father, who worked in the building, had breakfast around 10 am at McDonald’s in Newark when he stopped to chat with friends at a place known for day laborers to gather and pick up work, he told The Times. Suddenly, ICE agents stood up and started arresting people, including his father.
Yanez, who lives in Houston, said he learned about it an hour later. His father was incarcerated in New Jersey before he was transferred to Calexico. He spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years locked up.
Members of the Todec Legal Center attended the memorial for Luis Beltrán Yanez-Cruz, who was from New Jersey and died far from home with no family by his side. “Even though we didn’t know el señor Luis, his death is behind our house, very close to us,” said a member of the immigrant rights group. We did not know him, but his family’s pain is our pain.”
Yanez-Cruz spent 26 years in the US, doing construction and painting jobs to help his family get by, Yanez said.
“He was an extraordinary father,” she said. “He always looked after us even when we were old, he looked after his grandchildren… He was always worried about them and called them to ask how they were.”
He called often, even when he was arrested, Yanez said. But his health seems to be deteriorating as he has been incarcerated for a long time, he said, even though he was in good health before he was arrested.
Inside the center, she was suffering from stomach and chest pains and sometimes felt like she was going to throw up when she ate, she said. He had trouble breathing while walking around the center and when he reported it to the staff, they only gave him painkillers, he said.
Yanez said the last time he spoke to his father was Jan. 3, he used to go in when he asked about his children as he was leaving work. He said as he ended the call “Okay, thanks.” Take care, I love you so much.
His brother spoke to him the next day and he seemed fine, he said. But when he was waiting for his call the next day, he received a call from a former prisoner who told him that he had heard that his father had been transferred to the health unit after having difficulty breathing. Yanez said that he tried to call the center but did not get any information until the next day when they called him and told him that he had died in the early hours of the morning.
Parish staff and members of the Todec Legal Center led the procession after the memorial service.
Yanez-Cruz’s death hit family members hard because they weren’t there during his last moments, his daughter said. They have been discussing the stories of his life and the sacrifices he made for them.
His father, he said, left Honduras in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country and left him, like millions of others, struggling in the aftermath. He went north to the US to help his family, Yanez said, and continued to work hard. He found friends easily, and when he died he received calls from people who met him and told him nice words.
Luz Gallegos, executive director of Todec Legal Center, an immigrant rights organization based in the Coachella Valley, said her group learned about Yanez-Cruz’s case after he died at a hospital near Indio. On Friday, the law enforcement agency helped organize a memorial mass for Yanez-Cruz at Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Church, to honor Yanez-Cruz and others who died in custody, Gallegos said.
“Even though we didn’t know el señor Luis, his death is behind our house, it is very close to us,” he said, “The pain that follows. We didn’t know him, but his family’s pain is our pain.”
