MAP Member Current News

National Lawyer's Guild
- Minnesota Chapter

The National Lawyer's Guild - Minnesota Chapter, in conjuction with other community groups has established the
Maria Inamagua Campaign for Justice.

Below is a summary and links to some .pdf documents associated with this campaign.

The following is a short summary of publicly reported facts surrounding the death of Maria Filomena Inamagua Merchan (30) on April 13, 2006.  This summary is  based on the contemporaneous reports of journalists Marco Fernandez Landoni and Jose A. Aldea, which appeared in La Prensa on April 15, 2006 and three articles by investigative reporter and commentator Ruben Rosario of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, April 8, 11, and 14, 2006.
(see original letter (in .pdf format, requires Adobe Reader) for attachments and more information)

On February 24, 2006, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents came to Maria's mother’s home in South Minneapolis and arrested her for non‑compliance with a deportation order.

She was taken to the Ramsey County Jail, which has a federal contract to house immigration detainees at rates ranging from $80 to $95 per day.  Among other things, the contract covers the provision of medical care.  While in the custody of Ramsey County Jail, Maria suffered a severe stroke that led to her death on April 13. 

She had been complaining of painful headaches and dizziness since shortly after her incarceration and told relatives that the jail's response was to give her Tylonol and similar painkillers before bedtime.  Ramsey County Sheriff Robert Fletcher confirmed the complaints and acknowledged that a specialist never saw the woman until her collapse. 

Nearly five weeks in the Ramsey County Jail, on Monday April 3, Maria struck her head while getting down from her bunk bed.  At four in the afternoon, the guards found her in her cell, fainted.  Thereafter, prison medical staffers observed her deteriorating condition for four hours but they did not take her to the hospital that was a few blocks from the prison.  By the time she was admitted to St. Paul's Regions Hospital, she was in critical condition.

Doctors at Regions Hospital quickly diagnosed oxygen‑depriving parasites attacking the brain but it was too late.  Despite their best efforts the damage to her brain was too severe, the coma was irreversible, and she died on April 13.  Her family has criticized jail officials for not taking her previous health complaints more seriously, failing to provide responsible medical treatment in response to her complaints, and for failing to seek appropriate medical attention quickly after she collapsed.

Document Links (all in .pdf format, requires Adobe Reader):

• 7-14 Letter from Ecuadorian Civic Committee in Minnesota to Edward Skinner, Inspector General of Dept. of Homeland Security
• 7-14 News Release
• 7-28 News Release
• 8-15 News Release

Contact: Peter Brown 612-824-6533