“통역·면회 거부당한 채 방치”…사망보고서에도 ‘왜’는 없었다 [인터뷰]

Gao Yanpang, a 46-year-old Chinese national, has been left to mourn his brother’s death after authorities refused to provide him any assistance. His brother, Gao Chao Pang, was found unresponsive in a prison shower in Pennsylvania on August 5th of last year, at 5:20 AM. The prison’s medical report reveals that he received cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but was formally pronounced dead about an hour later.

Gao Yanpang claims that his brother’s death was an unavoidable choice made due to the poor conditions in which he lived. He says, "My brother’s legacy includes the words, 'I want to be with Chinese people' and he was afraid of living alone among different races." However, these requests were ignored. Gao Yanpang, who has also been incarcerated, described the grim prison environment, stating, "If only you could sleep, any bed would do."

He went on to mention the cramped conditions, shared mattresses, and constant disputes among 30 inmates, as well as the inhumane flooring and tile-bathroom toilets. Despite multiple attempts to visit the prison, Gao Yanpang was denied access, and he protested the denial of visitation rights, arguing that in cases of suicidal risks, families should be allowed to see their loved ones.

A lawyer representing the family, Jeremy Lavinsky, told the Korean Herald, "The information received from the immigration enforcement agency is limited, making it difficult to conclude the cause of death." He added, "There were certainly points of negligence during his death process. We will continue to investigate until we get the answers we need."

The incident has left the family feeling harassed, with the immigration agency not revealing the complete process, not granting permission for an examination, and conducting the examination without the family's consent. The death certificate, which is just a half-page long, contains no specifics about the cause of death. Even when Gao Yanpang's hands and feet were bound when found, this fact was only revealed to the family during their search for the cause of death.

Gao Yanpang suspects that the immigration agency might have wanted his brother's organs, and he expresses deep distrust towards the agency. The family has filed a lawsuit against the agency, but is still waiting for the concrete cause of death. This is not an isolated case; out of 117 death reports from the immigration agency between 2018 and 2026, at least 30 (25.7%) do not provide a clear cause of death.

During the Trump administration, there has been a surge in suicide cases in immigration detention facilities, with 12 such incidents reported in the past 20 months. However, the lack of transparency continues, as the agency does not disclose the full details of these cases. In the case of Cuban national Ronas Campos, who died in a prison, the immigration agency reported it as a suicide, but the Washington Post reported eyewitnesses witnessing Campos being choked, stating, "Campos' breathing stopped and he kept repeating 'I can't breathe.'"