Phoenix woman with leukemia has been without medical care in ICE detention for 7 months

Rodríguez Márquez, 39, was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Feb. 10. Now she is being held at the Eloy Detention Center, the largest ICE prison in the state operated by CoreCivic, a private prison company. 

There, she is not receiving proper medical care for her chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of cancer that targets white blood cells and bone marrow. As a result, her health has been rapidly deteriorating for months. Her community and her family worry she may not make it out alive. 

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She has been living in the US for over 20 years and has been a legal resident for 2 years. She has no criminal record.

Trans Queer Pueblo, a community organization of over 500 LGBTQ migrants, indigenous and Afro-Latinx people in Phoenix, is advocating for Rodríguez Márquez’s release and looking for a specialist to get her the medical care she needs. 

Rodríguez Márquez has been involved with Trans Queer Pueblo for about 10 years, according to the organization. 

On Aug. 30, US Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) conducted her second oversight visit of the Eloy detention center, where she met with several of her constituents who are detained there, including Rodríguez Márquez. 

Detention center staff continue to tell Rodríguez Márquez that she has a stomach ulcer, and will only give her Tylenol and stomach ulcer medication, but they have never actually done the testing required for stomach ulcers, Ansari said.

“She was, from the very beginning, very clearly in a lot of pain, very clearly distressed. And she’s been through a lot…she’s lost nearly 70 pounds,” Ansari told The Copper Courier. “She made clear that her only ask and her only hope at this point is to see a specialist and oncologist for cancer, and they have repeatedly denied that.”

Now, Rodríguez Márquez is seeking asylum, Ansari said, since her permanent residency was revoked by a federal immigration judge, and she has been denied parole, despite her life-threatening medical conditions.  

READ MORE: Detained by ICE, a Phoenix woman with leukemia faces death without medical care

“It does give us hope [Ansari visiting Rodríguez Márquez], I think that the situation is very serious, I don’t think Eloy is acknowledging that, and so I think it’s great that she’s involved,” said Sonix Flores, media coordinator at Trans Queer Pueblo. 

She is coughing up blood, too weak to stand, experiencing numbing, and has been rapidly losing weight, Ansari said. 

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask to say that if somebody has leukemia, they should be immediately sent to a hospital outside of the facility to see an oncologist, but I think that companies like CoreCivic choose to make more money as opposed to doing the right thing,” Ansari said during a press conference in Washington DC last week.

Disturbing ICE detention center conditions

In May, Ansari visited the Eloy Detention Center unannounced, where detained immigrants housed at the prison described harrowing and inhumane treatment, such as an officer forcing everyone outside and making them walk around for “what felt like hours” without any water, allegedly repeating, “This is the price of the American dream.” 

In July, Ansari received notification that she was denied access to meet with her detained constituents less than 24 hours before the scheduled visit.

During Ansari’s Aug. 30 visit, she spoke with about two dozen women, including Rodríguez Márquez, who said they have seen her health deteriorating, and that she is very clearly in pain, Ansari told The Copper Courier.

The women also described being forced to melt ice for water because the water they are given has chlorine in it, giving them rashes all over their bodies—many also detailed being issued used underwear, which is giving them UTIs, Ansari said in a press conference. 

“They’re going to continue to detain people, but we need to make sure that the treatment and the conditions of these facilities improve,” Ansari said.

Ansari sent a letter to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons requesting a full and immediate update on Rodríguez Márquez’s medical care, the steps his office is taking to address her condition, and the justification for continued detention given her health and legal circumstances. 

Ansari told The Copper Courier she has yet to receive a response.

“We’re seeing a very disturbing and growing pattern, which is the expansion of this country’s immigration detention system into increasingly remote, unregulated and inhumane spaces. These are spaces where abuse thrives in the shadows and where oversight is intentionally obstructed,” said Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, during the Washington DC press conference. 

Ansari also shared a message from who she called Rodríguez Márquez’s primary advocate and best friend: 

“​Week after week, I see her health deteriorating. Eloy Detention Center is not equipped to treat Arbella. They deny the seriousness of her symptoms and offer only Band Aid fixes instead of specialist care and proper medical facilities.” 

“I am demanding immediate medical intervention for Yari and for humane treatment at ICE facilities across the United States, Yari must be able to see an oncologist before it is too late again.”