The Mystery Death of of a Mexican National at YVR - But any help for migrants between Canada and the United States? And what about the Bay Area?

This was was one of the stories that caught the attention of many Mexicans living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Most topics about Latinos, including Mexicans, often made national headlines on U.S.-based networks such as Telemundo and Univision, plus some local newscasts in Spanish in the United States. Most often, they cover everything from violence to finance, sports to weather, and anything in between that affects Latinos.

But in this blog, I am finding that the topic that is disused here is something that Americans could be discussing - a Mexican national, waiting to be deported from Canada to it's native country, ended a life in tragedy. This is a topic that never made headlines on major Spanish networks in the United States. In addition, I am also finding that undocumented workers are finding lesser services in Canada than in the United States. That also raised my eyebrows on whether Canadians could offer help to those that escaped their native country because of the ongoing drug violence in comparison to the United States.


WHAT HAPPENED TO LUCIA JIMENEZ AT YVR?

It was December 2013, at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in Richmond, British Columbia. A woman, who is a Mexican national, going by the name of Lucia Vega Jimenez, was taken into custody in the Vancouver metro area at YVR by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), located at an undisclosed location within YVR. Jimenez was waiting to be deported back to Mexico.

But at one point, on December 20, 2013, Lucia Jimenez mysteriously died while in custody. At that time, no one ever knew what happened to Jimenez. That is, until Burnaby, British Columbia-based CHAN-DT, which is now called Global BC, started to ask the tough questions about what exactly happened. At that time, Mexican-Canadians were angry at the CBSA, and an corner's inquest was issued at the request of the BC Corners Service in late-February.

For several months, Global BC uncovered what was going on at the time of Jimenez's death at YVR. The first video of how Jimenez died debuted on October 1, 2014, during Global BC's News Hour when anchor Chris Gailus and his fellow team were shocked on what he saw. That video uncovered a 40-minute gap between the first part and the second part of the scene. The latter showed some disturbing images, showing two subjects checking on Jimenez and were frightened to see what was going on. Subsequent reports uncovered that there were frightening 911 tapes, and that Mexicans living in Vancouver wanted to speak on behalf of Lucia Jimenez as part of the corners inquest, but were denied, according to one resident who spoke with Global BC. The findings by Global BC were shocking, but in particular uncovering even more questions of why the CBSA failed to check Lucia Jimenez every 30 minutes as required.

The next day, a second video, also released by Global BC, surfaced on what was going on the day before Jimenez's death. That video showed what exactly happened the day before Lucia Jimenez died. The CBSA wanted to not release the videos shown on Global News' website, citing "security concerns", but never said a word on what it was. One of the likely possibilities was that the CBSA would possibly never release that video to the public because of a possible embarrassment among insiders, news stations, and the general public.


UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS - SERVICES BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CANADA COMPARISON, BAY AREA EFFECTS?

In the United States, there are some services that were meant to help undocumented workers achieve their dream. Approximately 950 miles to the south of Vancouver, BC, at San Jose State University (SJSU), their MOSAIC unit discussed about a service meant to help undocumented workers. A long discussion ensued between participants and MOSAIC presenters on the DREAM Act, who were also involved in viewing YouTube videos on such issues. A search on YouTube turns out a lot of videos giving viewer input on what was going on.

I personally have never recalled any services that were meant to help undocumented workers from Mexico trying to get a better life in Canada. Mexicans living in Vancouver do probably want to change that, after I viewed several Global BC news reports. In comparison to the United States, Canada currently does not offer the same level of service meant to help undocumented workers, if any.

From what I've seen in my entire life, headlines on immigration in the United States in the English language are not usually covered in local newscasts, such as for example, the time of when I watched KNTV (NBC Bay Area) reporter Damian Trujillo on local issues affecting immigration in the United States, as well as his life on the fields. However, I have never seen him covering the the subject of such immigration from Mexico to Canada and the reactions/effects that part of the issue has in the Bay Area.

After viewing the video posted by Global BC, I still do question what Lucia Jimenez could have been offered if an act similar to the DREAM Act in the U.S. could have been implemented, and if any, what offers does Canada have for Jimenez. That is what Canada would have to decide, and CBSA would need to get involved. On both sides of the border, however, Mexicans and Latinos living in both Canada and the United States may have plenty to talk about, and that could include the Bay Area. The city of San Jose, California, for instance, has a large Hispanic population among the nearly one million people living in the Bay Area's biggest city. Vancouver, BC, on the other hand, has less population than San Jose or even nearby San Francisco overall, and has a handful of Hispanic population living in the Vancouver metropolitan area.


So after all the videos were surfaced by Global BC on the death of Lucia Jimenez, even I was shocked of what happened.

Question to Readers (please explain by comment, e-mail or Tweet): What reaction do you have after seeing video posted by Global BC? Would justice be needed for Jimenez?


Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-Mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak