A Chinese immigrant was found dead just hours after being admitted to a detention facility in the United States, according to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Lianyong Wei’s death raises questions about screening procedures and the counting of deaths in custody, which has undergone a recent policy change.
Lianyong Wei, 51, was detained by the Public Security Bureau of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on August 21 following accusations of assaulting a family at their residence. Authorities confirmed that Wei’s legal immigration status had expired in 2019.
A day later, the immigrant was transferred to ICE custody “without incident” pending deportation proceedings. He was taken to the Saipan facility, run by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Corrections.
Wei was discovered unconscious by a prison officer during morning patrol on August 23. He was pronounced dead at around 7:30 a.m. local time.
Wei’s death brings to 57 the number of immigrants who have died in government custody since the start of former President Trump’s second term, according to ICE records. Of this total, twenty-four deaths have occurred just since January 1st of the current year of the old policy. This number, however, is impacted by a recent change in the way these deaths are counted, which has generated debate and concern among human rights activists.
After being found, Wei was immediately taken to the Commonwealth Health Care Corporation Emergency Room, where life-sustaining interventions were initiated, ICE detailed.
The official cause of Lianyong Wei’s death remains under investigation by the relevant authorities.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations require that all detained immigrants undergo a basic health screening within 12 hours of entering custody. However, DHS did not respond to requests to confirm whether Wei had undergone such an assessment.
In response, the department issued a standard statement, stating that “comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment patients arrive and throughout their stay.”
Policy change impacts registration of immigrant deaths
The government’s official death count did not include José Chajon-Raxon, a Guatemalan man who was detained at the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, on July 18. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that after screening, Chajon-Raxon suffered a “seizure seizure” and was taken to a local hospital and was released from ICE custody on July 22.
It was not clarified whether the date of his release coincided with that of his death. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials did not provide additional details about what happened.
Chajon-Raxon represents the third person to die following a medical emergency at Delaney Hall since its reopening in May 2025.
Another case excluded from the government count is that of Prisciliano Trejo, who died five weeks after being arrested by ICE. Trejo was in the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia while suffering from leukemia. His family reported that he requested medical help on July 6, but the request took eight days to be approved.
On July 15, Trejo fell into a coma, and on the same day, ICE released him. He died on July 24th.
In June, the Trump administration reversed a Biden administration policy that required ICE to record deaths that occurred within 30 days of individuals being released from its custody.
DHS officials explained that, “per ICE policy, when an individual is no longer in ICE custody, ICE is no longer responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths that may occur.”
The same officials added that “this is common sense” and that “ICE is not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody.”
