by Harsha Walia

http://themainlander.com/2014/10/06/10-key-facts-about-the-lucia-vega-jimenez-inquest/

This past week an all-white jury listened to testimony at the inquest into the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez while in Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) custody.

During the last month of her life, every institution that Lucia came into contact with was most interested in law enforcement and least interested in her safety. Though this is not shocking to anyone familiar with the immigration system, the facts that are emerging about what happened to Lucia while in custody are illuminating to those unfamiliar with how immigration enforcement really operates.

While the inquest has focused on proposals for suicide prevention, better communication between officials, and training for private security employees, it has stayed clear of systemic issues. Lucia’s fears were due to her deportation to Mexico (a country Canada deems ‘safe’ under the new Refugee Exclusion Act), fears she relayed multiple times to numerous authorities. But CBSA does not care for refugees like Lucia; their mandate is to callously enforce deportations. The holding cells below the Vancouver International Airport and Vancouver Public Library are a grim metaphor of the invisible underclass of 11,000 migrant detainees, including children, held in CBSA custody every year. The inquest does not insist on an end to these coercive practices nor does it interrogate the criminalization of migration.

Emerging story about Lucia’s tragic death

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by Harsha Walia

http://rabble.ca/columnists/2014/09/death-and-despair-canadas-migrant-dungeons

One month after the death of 42-year-old hotel worker and Mexican migrant Lucia Vega Jimenez in Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) custody, I received a call from a young Haitian woman at the same prison Lucia had been in. Unlike most detainees, she did not call to ask for legal advice to fight for her release, nor was she seeking support to stop her deportation. She called to ask me if I could find information on preventing the spread of infection. She had just miscarried.

One month after Lucia’s death, another migrant death in detention.

A coroner’s inquest into the death of Lucia is scheduled to begin today. Lucia was found hanging in detention cells at the Vancouver International Airport — what has been referred to as a dungeon — nine months ago. Lucia’s death was kept secret by CBSA for over a month, until community groups revealed the information to media and called for an independent investigation. (These same community groups are now being shut out of the inquest, much like the process of the Missing Women’s Inquiry).

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Wednesday October 15th from 6:00-8:00
YWCA 733 Beatty St, Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1469256423338435/

Every day in the Greater Vancouver area, at various skytrain stations and bus stops, transit police check fares and issue tickets. And every day, some of those people who cannot show proof of purchase are reported to Canada Border Services Agency.

Three hundred and twenty eight people were reported to CBSA by Transit Police last year, one-in-five of whom faced a subsequent immigration investigation. One of these people was Lucia Vega Jiménez, who later committed suicide in a detention center.
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A BC Coroners inquest into the tragic and shameful death of Lucia Vega Jimenez is beginning on Monday September 29th and continues till Friday October 3rd.

The community, including a coalition of eight immigrant, refugee and Latin American community groups, has been SHUT OUT of this inquest.

We invite the community for a delegation on the first day of the inquest as well an evening rally to gather and renew our calls and commitment for justice.

PRESS CONFERENCE AND DELEGATION
Monday September 29th at 8:30 am
Burnaby Coroners Court, MetroTower II. Easiest way to find it is adjacent to skytrain station take the Central Blvd entrance to the Mall, right by the open plaza area.

RALLY AND VIGIL
Tuesday September 30th at 6:30 pm
CIC offices, 300 West Georgia, near VPL.

Lucia Vega Jimenez was a 42-year Mexican hotel worker who died while under Canadian Border Service Agency’s custody in December 2013 after being turned over to immigration authorities by TransLink police. Just prior to her scheduled deportation to Mexico, she hung herself in cells at the Vancouver International Airport. She died eight days later, on December 28, 2013. Lucia’s death was kept secret by CBSA and pubic officials for over a month.
Community members uncovered this horrific tragedy and sounded the alarm to media. Lucia’s death sparked national outrage. A petition by community groups with over 8,688 signatures calls for a full, transparent and independent civilian inquiry and investigation. The petition also calls for independent civilian oversight and a comprehensive review of migrant detention policies.
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A coalition of eight immigrant, refugee and Latin American community groups have been denied participant status by the BC Coroners Service at the inquest into the tragic and shameful death of Lucia Vega Jimenez.

“This is a completely unreasonable decision by the BC Coroners Service. We informed the media about Lucia’s death, while the Canadian Border Services Agency hid the truth for one month. We gathered information, organized memorials, and pressed the government for justice. Given our active involvement every step of the way, we never imagined we would be excluded from this inquest, “ says journalist Karla Lottini.

Lucia Vega Jimenez was a 42-year Mexican hotel worker who died while under Canadian Border Service Agency’s custody in December 2013 after being turned over to immigration authorities by TransLink police. Just prior to her scheduled deportation to Mexico, she hung herself in cells at the Vancouver International Airport. She died eight days later, on December 28, 2013.

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