Abandoned without interpretation or visit refused... 'Why' was not in the death report either [Interview]

A Chinese national, Yanfeng, 46, said he still cannot believe his younger brother's death and accused US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of failing to take responsibility. His younger brother, Ge Chaofeng, 32, was one of four people who died by suicide while in US custody last year.

Ge Chaofeng was found unconscious in the shower of a detention facility in Pennsylvania at around 5:20 am on August 5 last year. According to ICE's death report, facility staff performed CPR, but about an hour later, the coroner officially confirmed his death.

In an interview with Hankyoreh on May 21, Yanfeng claimed that his brother's death was an inevitable choice due to the poor environment he was forced into. He said, "In his letter, my brother wrote that he wanted to be with Chinese people. He couldn't speak English and was afraid of being alone among people of other races." However, this request was not granted.

Yanfeng said, "My brother was physically strong, but psychologically vulnerable. If so, the facility should have granted his request to be transferred. Even when he went to get medical treatment, there was no one who could communicate with him in Chinese, and no interpreter or guide was provided. There was no way for him to ask for help."

Yanfeng also revealed the poor conditions of the detention facility, saying he had also been detained. He said, "If you can just sleep, anywhere becomes a bed. There were 30 people in one room, and every day, there were fights over mattresses. The rest had to sleep on the cement floor, tables, or toilet tile floors, and some people even slept next to the toilet."

During the time when his brother's psychological state was noticeably deteriorating, Yanfeng visited the detention facility several times, but was not allowed to meet him. He said, "I visited several times, but was blocked at the entrance and couldn't go inside. The meeting was denied due to the risk of suicide. I protested, saying that if there is a risk of suicide, I should be allowed to meet my family. But it was not accepted."

Jeremy Raskinski, the lawyer representing the family's lawsuit, told Hankyoreh, "The information we received from ICE was limited, making it difficult to determine the cause of death. However, there are certainly some unclear points in the process leading to his death. We will continue to investigate until we get the necessary answers."

He added, "Chaofeng deserved better treatment, but the detention facility's system did not provide it."

Not only did the death of his brother not provide closure for the family, but the attitude of ICE after the incident also tormented them. ICE did not properly inform Ge Chaofeng's family about the process of his death and performed an autopsy without their consent.

The death report on Chaofeng was about one and a half A4 pages long, and except for the fact that he was found collapsed, the specific circumstances of his death were not recorded. The fact that his hands and feet were bound at the time of death was only discovered when the family later confirmed the details of his death.

Yanfeng said, "I'm not sure, but I'm suspicious of the suicide itself. Given that ICE performed an autopsy on my brother without the family's consent, I wonder if they wanted his organs. I have strong doubts."

Although the family filed a lawsuit against ICE, they still have not heard the specific details of his death.

This case is not unique to Chaofeng. Out of 117 death reports from ICE over nine years (2018-2026) analyzed by Hankyoreh, at least 30 cases (25.7%) did not specify the cause of death. Unless the bereaved families engage in legal battles, numerous lives are simply recorded as a "line of numbers" in death.

There have been 12 cases of suicide in ICE detention facilities in the 20 months since the start of the Biden administration, a significant increase, but the details of these cases are also unclear. In January, in the case of Lunas Campos, a Cuban who died in a detention facility, ICE announced that the cause of death was suicide, but The Washington Post cited testimony from another inmate, saying, "I witnessed corrections officers choking Campos, and I heard him repeatedly say, 'I can't breathe.'"