Tragedy Strikes: Death in U.S. Immigration Custody Raises Questions

Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Broward Transitional Center in Florida. Her death, now under investigation, occurred after several transfers across different facilities following her detention by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A Haitian woman, Marie Ange Blaise, has died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida, sparking an investigation. Blaise, 44, passed away at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach last Friday, with medical professionals pronouncing her dead, as reported by ICE.

The agency has informed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies about Blaise's death while also notifying the Haitian Consulate in Miami. Blaise had entered the U.S. at an unspecified date and location and had interactions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection earlier in February while attempting to fly from the U.S. Virgin Islands to North Carolina.

She was subsequently issued a notice for expedited removal and transferred to ICE custody from a staging facility in Puerto Rico, eventually finding herself in a correctional facility in Louisiana before finally being moved to Florida, where she died. The Broward Transitional Center, managed by Geo Group Inc., is known for housing non-criminal and low-security detainees on a short-term basis.

(With inputs from agencies.)