Chinese immigrant dies in Northern Mariana Islands detention facility

A Chinese immigrant was found dead just hours after being booked into immigration detention in a U.S. territory, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lianyong Wei, was arrested by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety on Aug. 21, after allegedly attacking a family in their home, officials said. A day later, Wei, whose legal immigration status ended in 2019, was taken into custody "without incident, pending his removal proceedings."

The 51-year-old was found unresponsive during morning checks the next day by a corrections officer at the Saipan facility, run by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Corrections. Wei was pronounced dead at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Aug. 23.

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, according to ICE's detainee death notifications. Twenty-four of those have occurred since Jan. 1.

After he was discovered "Wei was immediately transported to the Commonwealth Health Care Corporation Emergency Room and life-sustaining interventions were initiated," according to ICE.

Wei's official cause of death remains under investigation.

Under Department of Homeland Security regulations, all immigrant detainees must receive a basic health screening within 12 hours of intake. DHS declined to respond to requests to verify that Wei had undergone such an evaluation.

Instead, they offered the following standard language: "Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay."

A change in policy

The government's death tally does not include Jose Chajon-Raxon, a Guatemalan man who was detained at Newark, New Jersey's controversial Delaney Hall Detention Center on July 18. In a statement to NPR, DHS officials said that a day after going through intake, Chajon-Raxon suffered a "seizure-like activity" requiring emergency medical care and was transferred to a local hospital. DHS said Chajon-Raxon was released from ICE custody on July 22.

It is unclear if that is the same day he died. DHS officials did not respond to inquiries asking for clarification.

Chajon-Raxon is the third person to die after experiencing a medical emergency at Delaney Hall since it reopened in May 2025.

Also excluded from the government's count is Prisciliano Trejo, who died exactly five weeks after he was arrested by ICE. Trejo was held at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, while suffering from leukemia. His family told the Detention Watch Network that the 29-year-old asked for medical help on July 6. The request was not approved for 8 days. By July 15, Trejo had fallen into a coma. That same day, ICE released him from custody. Trejo died on July 24.

In June, the Trump administration eliminated a Biden-era policy requiring ICE to report deaths occurring within 30 days of people being released from custody.

"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," DHS officials told NPR.

They added: "This is common sense. ICE is not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody."