A Costa Rican man who had previously lived in the US undocumented for over a decade died shortly after being deported to his home country in a vegetative state. Randall Gamboa Esquivel, 52, was detained by US authorities and transferred between detention centers before being flown back to San José on an air ambulance. He never regained consciousness and five weeks later was pronounced dead at a hospital in Pérez Zeledón.
According to medical records, Gamboa had been diagnosed with at least 10 conditions, including sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, protein malnutrition, and toxic encephalopathy. His relatives and friends described him as healthy when he left the US, and some have expressed outrage that his deteriorating health was not reported to them.
Gamboa had been transferred from one detention center to another in June, just months before his deportation, and medical records show that he was assessed as catatonic with a medication list including nearly a dozen IV injections and multiple medications. His family says they received no information about his poor health until after he died.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have stated that medical professionals diagnosed Gamboa with unspecified psychosis and hospitalized him at Valley Baptist Hospital for proper mental health and medical care. However, relatives say this is not consistent with their accounts of his good health before deportation.
The family's younger sister, Greidy Mata, described the scene when she finally found out what had happened to her brother after weeks of waiting: "How is it possible that a man who left healthy, tall, chubby, robust came back dirty, looked abandoned, with ulcers on his entire body, in a vegetative state?" She added that they were never informed about his deteriorating health during his detention and that the information came from a lawyer who had been helping them.
A letter from the director of Costa Rica's migration agency stated that he was notified of Gamboa's deportation but not given any details about his health. Medical records also show that a doctor visited Gamboa on August 2, noting that he was immobile and exhibited decerebrate posturing, which is typically associated with severe brain damage.
The case has sparked outrage among the family and relatives of immigrants who have died in detention, highlighting concerns about the quality of care provided by ICE. "At times this all seems like a horror story or a lie," said Mata, as she prepared to mark Christmas while mourning her brother's loss.
According to medical records, Gamboa had been diagnosed with at least 10 conditions, including sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, protein malnutrition, and toxic encephalopathy. His relatives and friends described him as healthy when he left the US, and some have expressed outrage that his deteriorating health was not reported to them.
Gamboa had been transferred from one detention center to another in June, just months before his deportation, and medical records show that he was assessed as catatonic with a medication list including nearly a dozen IV injections and multiple medications. His family says they received no information about his poor health until after he died.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have stated that medical professionals diagnosed Gamboa with unspecified psychosis and hospitalized him at Valley Baptist Hospital for proper mental health and medical care. However, relatives say this is not consistent with their accounts of his good health before deportation.
The family's younger sister, Greidy Mata, described the scene when she finally found out what had happened to her brother after weeks of waiting: "How is it possible that a man who left healthy, tall, chubby, robust came back dirty, looked abandoned, with ulcers on his entire body, in a vegetative state?" She added that they were never informed about his deteriorating health during his detention and that the information came from a lawyer who had been helping them.
A letter from the director of Costa Rica's migration agency stated that he was notified of Gamboa's deportation but not given any details about his health. Medical records also show that a doctor visited Gamboa on August 2, noting that he was immobile and exhibited decerebrate posturing, which is typically associated with severe brain damage.
The case has sparked outrage among the family and relatives of immigrants who have died in detention, highlighting concerns about the quality of care provided by ICE. "At times this all seems like a horror story or a lie," said Mata, as she prepared to mark Christmas while mourning her brother's loss.
This is just devastating 
my heart goes out to his family and I'm so angry that this happened to him 
he was already in a fragile state when they deported him back to Costa Rica, but what really hurts me is that his own country didn't even know about the poor health he was in during his detention 
and now he's dead because of it 
it's like they just threw him away, no regard for human life whatsoever 
This is just crazy... I mean, can't you imagine getting on that plane with no idea what's gonna happen next? They say he was healthy before, but if the docs back in the US couldn't even keep an eye on him after a month or so, it's like nobody cares. And the fact that they flew him to Costa Rica on some air ambulance, it's like they were trying to sweep something under the rug. 
Five weeks later and he's dead... it's just inhumane.ICE needs to explain what went wrong here...
. It's like, what kind of system allows someone to die in detention because they can't get proper medical care? ICE needs to be held accountable for this 
. The family is already dealing with grief and loss, and now they have to navigate all these medical and immigration issues... it's just too much 
.
. Randall Gamboa Esquivel was basically dropped in the middle of Costa Rica without anyone knowing how bad his health was 
.
. But it's clear now that something was seriously wrong, and those in charge just didn't seem to care or communicate effectively.
. We need to start questioning how our immigration system is supposed to ensure that people like Randall are getting the care they need, especially when they're already in a vulnerable state 
And then you have ICE saying one thing but his family saying another... it's like, which one is true? 
what kind of "care" is that?!?! 
...and whats with the medical care? 10 conditions and you still send him back outta here?! 
it's like they dont even care about ppl's lives anymore 
... i mean, 10 conditions? toxic encephalopathy? rhabdomyolysis? it sounds like a nightmare come true 
... it's like, hello humanity! 
we need to do better here 
like wat would u do if this happened 2 ur family member?? 
it's all just about making an example out of him. ICE is literally killing people with their crappy care 
I mean, what kinda psychosis makes you forget that your guy's brain is SHATTERED?! 
.
This is a huge red flag for the whole immigration system and we need to take action to prevent more families from going through this kind of pain...