By: Debra Black Immigration Reporter, Published on Thu Jan 30 2014

Refugee advocates are calling for civilian oversight of the Canada Border Services Agency after a Mexican woman who had been working in a hotel died in hospital following her detention in the immigration holding centre at Vancouver airport. Lucia Vega Jimenez, 42, was found hanging in a shower stall and rushed to hospital on Dec. 20. She died a week later when she was removed from life support with her family present. Jimenez had been picked up in Vancouver on a transit fare violation and was handed over to the border agency for deportation. Her death was not made public until this week. It has triggered a firestorm of criticism over the lack of accountability of the border agency, with many advocates calling for the establishment of an independent civilian oversight mechanism.

» click here to continue reading

VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail. Published Thursday, Jan. 30 2014, 10:07 PM EST

The death of a Mexican woman while in custody at Vancouver International Airport has sparked a dispute pitting the Canada Border Services Agency against advocacy groups who say the incident underscores the need for independent oversight of the agency and changes to its migrant detention policies. Lucia Dominga Vega Jimenez, 42, had been in custody for three weeks – first at Alouette Correctional Centre, then at the airport’s immigration holding centre – when she attempted to kill herself. She was taken to hospital on Dec. 20 and died eight days later. While it is not uncommon for immigrant holds to be lengthy, advocates note it is the responsibility of the CBSA to ensure the safety of detainees.

» click here to continue reading

By Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun January 30, 2014

Three more groups concerned about the rights of refugees and migrants joined the chorus Thursday demanding more public oversight of Canada Border Services Agency. The groups say the agency has ducked questions about the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez, a Mexican woman who hanged herself Dec. 20 in CBSA holding cells at Vancouver International Airport. She died in hospital eight days later. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, the Canadian Council for Refugees and the BC Civil Liberties Association released a joint statement Thursday condemning the silence.

» click here to continue reading

By Paula Baker Global News

There are more questions than answers surfacing regarding the in-custody death of Mexican national Lucia Jimenez. While the Canada Border Services Agency is revealing few answers, Global News has learned more about the hours before Jimenez’s death from a family friend, who was by her side while she was on life support in the hospital. “She doesn’t have a voice, she’s helpless, she’s laying there and we can’t do anything for her,” Yasmin Trejo, a friend of the Jimenez family, said.

This is the reason Trejo is speaking out. She wants to give Jimenez a voice. Jimenez, a refugee claimant, attempted suicide while detained by CBSA at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on December 20, 2013. The 42-year-old was about to be deported back to Mexico when she hung herself in a shower stall at the CBSA detention centre at YVR. Eight days later she was taken off life support.

» click here to continue reading

By Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun January 30, 2014

METRO VANCOUVER — Lucia Vega Jimenez lived like a “ghost” in Vancouver. She had no family, no close friends and worked illegally as a hotel cleaner, sending all her earnings to support her ailing mother in Mexico. In the week before her suicide last month in a Canadian Border Services holding cell, the 42-year-old Vancouver woman was despondent.

» click here to continue reading