Mexican migrant in Border Patrol custody dies at Arizona hospital

TUCSON, Ariz. – A 49-year-old Mexican migrant died this week, hours after Border Patrol agents in Arizona apprehended him and then hospitalized him in the Phoenix area because of a preexisting heart condition, authorities said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not release the migrant's identity. In a brief statement issued Tuesday, the agency said that border agents detained the man just after 1 p.m. Sunday south of Casa Grande, Arizona.

"During processing it was determined the man needed medical attention," CBP said in the statement. "... Medical officials determined that the man had a preexisting heart condition."

Lilian Cordova with the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix said the Border Patrol notified the consulate of the man's death on Monday.

Customs and Border Protection has not released further information. But Cordova provided additional details about the roughly 18 hours the man spent in the Border Patrol's custody leading up to his death Monday. 

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As agents apprehended him on Sunday afternoon, the man was apparently having chest pains and was first transported to a hospital in Casa Grande, she said. When his condition worsened from "cardiac complications," he was transported to a hospital in Mesa. 

"He had to undergo emergency surgery, and from the surgery he unfortunately wasn't able to regain consciousness, and he passed away yesterday morning," Cordova said Tuesday.

The consulate is working to confirm the man's identity and to locate his relatives so they can help repatriate his remains.

This is the first death in custody for Arizona border officials so far this fiscal year, which started Oct. 1. It is the second nationwide at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

On Oct. 1, a 37-year-old Cameroonian man identified as Nebane Abienwi died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.

He had arrived at the border earlier seeking asylum and had been at an ICE detention center for about two weeks before he was hospitalized and died from a brain hemorrhage, according to Buzzfeed.

Follow Rafael Carranza on Twitter: @RafaelCarranza