Mourning the Loss of Melvin Ariel Calero Mendoza, Who Died in the Custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on October 13, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY NETWORK
AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, COLORADO CHAPTER
Westminster, Colorado
October 17, 2022
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Colorado Chapter Mourn the Loss of Melvin Ariel Calero Mendoza, Who Died in the Custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on October 13, 2022
Melvin Ariel Calero Mendoza was not with the ones that he loved when he passed away last Thursday morning. Melvin, who was only 39 years old, died while being imprisoned in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Melvin fled Nicaragua due to fear of persecution and death. He sought asylum in the United States, a right to which he was entitled under national and international law. Melvin had good reason to flee Nicaragua—the U.S. Department of State reports that President Ortega’s regime is responsible for mass human rights violations, including “unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings” and “forced disappearances.” Despite this compelling context, ICE did not parole Melvin into the country like so many other asylum seekers fleeing political turmoil and violence. Instead, ICE incarcerated him for the last six months of his life in a prison where he had no right to court-appointed counsel, was forced to wear a prison jumpsuit, could not benefit from contact visitations, and did not have access to outdoor space.1
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Colorado Chapter mourn Melvin’s needless loss. The system in which he was detained has a lengthy record of inflicting harm on the people it imprisons.2 RMIAN calls for an end to the use of immigration detention so that people can pursue their legal rights while living freely in and enriching our communities.
Media Inquiries
RMIAN:
Laura Lunn, Director of Advocacy & Litigation, (720) 370-9100, llunn@rmian.org
Monique Sherman, Detention Program Managing Attorney, (720) 738-3220, Msherman@rmian.org
AILA Colorado Chapter:
Petula McShiras, AILA Colorado Chapter Chair, (303) 872-6985, co.aila.chair@gmail.com
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1 Office of Inspector General Report, Acting Inspector General John V. Kelly, “Concerns about ICE [] Treatment [of Detained Persons] and Care at Four Detention Facilities,” (Jun. 3, 2019) available at: https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2019-06/OIG-19-47-Jun19.pdf.
2 See AIC 2022 Complaint, “Re: Violations of ICE COVID-19 Guidance, PBNDS 2011, and Rehabilitation Act of 1973 at the Denver Contract Detention Facility, (Feb. 11, 2022) available at: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/complaint_against _ice _medical_neglect_people_sick_covid_19_colorado_facility_complaint1.pdf; AIC/AILA 2019 Complaint, “Supplement—Failure to Provide Adequate Medical and Mental Health Care to Individuals Detained in the Denver Contract Detention Facility,” (Jun. 11, 2019) available at: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/general_litigation/complaint_supple ment_failure_to_provide_adequate_medical_and_mental_health_care.pdf; AIC/AILA 2018 Complaint, “Failure to Provide Adequate Medical and Mental Health Care to Individuals Detained in the Denver Contract Detention Facility,”2 (Jun. 4, 2018) available at: http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ general_litigation/complaint_demands_investigation_into_inadequate_medical_and_mental_health_c are_condition_in_immigration_detention_center.pdf