Cancer patient detained over a year at Arizona ICE facility as health deteriorates, lawmakers and advocates demand release
May 15, 2026·Location: Eloy, AZ
Arbella "Yari" Rodríguez Márquez, a green card holder, was arrested at a border checkpoint in Nogales, Arizona in February 2025 and detained at Eloy Detention Center. She has chronic lymphocytic leukemia that was in remission before her detention but has since returned and worsened while in custody. Her health has significantly deteriorated, with symptoms including weight loss (55 pounds), anemia, vomiting blood, and the development of new chronic conditions requiring a walker. Over a year into her detention, state legislators, members of Congress, civil rights organizations, and advocacy groups including Trans Queer Pueblo have called for her humanitarian release. ICE denies allegations of medical neglect, stating she has received 13 medical appointments during detention.
Timeline
Sources
- Arbella “Yari” Rodríguez Márquez has been held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona for over a year.
Yari was in remission from lymphocytic leukemia before being detained. But advocates, elected… | Carmen Rojas, PhD
linkedin.com·May 15, 2026·archived copy
- A woman continues to seek release from ICE detention, citing her chronic leukemia
- - AZPM
- eu.azcentral.com
- azmirror.com
- Arizona lawmakers call on ICE to release woman with leukemia from Eloy Detention Center
KJZZ·May 4, 2026·archived copy
- pinalcentral.com
- Phoenix advocates petition for woman with cancer to be released from ICE
azfamily.com·Jul 5, 2025·archived copy
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