ICE detainee dies on August 23 within hours of admission in Northern Mariana Islands

Lianyong Wei, a 51-year-old Chinese immigrant, died on August 23 at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time, just hours after being taken into ICE custody. He was found unresponsive during morning checks by a corrections officer at the Saipan facility, run by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Corrections. After being discovered, Wei was transported to the Commonwealth Health Care Corporation Emergency Room and life-sustaining interventions were initiated, according to ICE. The official cause of death remains under investigation. Wei had been arrested by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety on August 21 following allegations of attacking a family in their home. His legal immigration status ended in 2019. He was taken into custody without incident on August 22 and transferred to the Saipan facility pending removal proceedings, according to NPR's reporting. Wei marks the 57th death of an immigrant detainee held in the care of the government since the start of President Trump's second term, per ICE's detainee death notifications. Twenty-four detainee deaths have occurred since January 1, 2026, according to NPR. Department of Homeland Security regulations require all immigrant detainees to receive a basic health screening within 12 hours of intake. DHS declined to respond to NPR's request to verify that Wei had undergone such a screening, offering instead the standard statement: "Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay." The Wei case exemplifies a broader mortality pattern tied to a policy change that affects the official death count. In June, the Trump administration eliminated a Biden-era requirement that ICE report deaths occurring within 30 days of people being released from custody. DHS officials stated, per NPR: "Per ICE policy, when an individual is no longer in ICE custody, then ICE will no longer be responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths that may occur." When asked about the rationale, DHS told NPR: "This is common sense. ICE is not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody." That policy shift obscures the full mortality burden of detention. Jose Chajon-Raxon, a Guatemalan man, was detained at Newark, New Jersey's Delaney Hall Detention Center on July 18. According to NPR, he experienced seizure-like activity a day after intake, requiring emergency medical care and transfer to a local hospital. DHS said Chajon-Raxon was released from ICE custody on July 22. Another case illustrates delayed medical intervention in custody. Prisciliano Trejo was 29 years old and held at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia while suffering from leukemia. He requested medical help on July 6, but the request was not approved for eight days, according to NPR. By July 15, Trejo had fallen into a coma. ICE released him from custody on July 15. Trejo died on July 24, exactly five weeks after his initial ICE arrest. Under the previous reporting rule, his death would have been tracked; under current policy, it is not.