Detained woman on life support, after apparent act of self-harm at AZ ICE facility

A 38 year old Romanian woman remains on life support at Banner Desert Medical Center after an apparent suicide attempt at the Eloy Detention Center, about 50 miles northwest of Tucson. Her family says Andreea Marin, who has bipolar disorder, may not have received her prescribed medication while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The family is seeking an independent investigation into what happened and questioning why Marin was detained in a civil immigration facility despite her serious mental health condition.

Marin was taken by air ambulance to the Mesa hospital on Oct. 23 after facility staff found her unconscious in her living area, according to CoreCivic, the private company operating Eloy. The company said medical staff began lifesaving treatment, called emergency responders and transported her to a nearby hospital. Marin’s brother said doctors told the family that personnel who brought her to the hospital reported she had apparently tried to hang herself in her cell. He emphasized that the family has not been given a complete account and is treating that explanation as unconfirmed until there is a full investigation.

Her relatives say they learned about the hospitalization from Banner Desert staff, not from ICE or Eloy officials. The family was notified on Sunday, two days after Marin was hospitalized, her brother said. When her mother arrived, Marin was unconscious and handcuffed by her wrists and ankles to the hospital bed, according to the family. Her brother also said an immigration officer tried to make him leave the room and delete photographs he had taken, while hospital staff argued that he could remain. He said the confusion over competing policies deepened the family’s distress as they tried to understand Marin’s condition.

The family had already been pressing ICE to make sure Marin received treatment for bipolar disorder. Her brother said officials assured them that medical personnel would handle her needs and provide any medication required. Instead, the family now fears that her treatment was interrupted or inadequate. ICE medical care at Eloy is provided through ICE Health Services Corp. CoreCivic said it notified ICE immediately after the emergency. ICE spokeswoman Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe initially declined to discuss the incident without Marin’s identification information, and the agency had not responded to the family’s account when the report was published.

Marin had been held at Eloy for less than two weeks. Her detention followed a complicated sequence involving a mental health crisis, a criminal charge and a missed court date. During a manic episode in October 2025, she was arrested after allegedly assaulting a corrections employee. Her family said she was already being taken to a treatment facility in Glendale, where she stabilized, before returning to her job in Tempe. She later missed an Oct. 1 hearing connected to the aggravated assault charge, but her brother said she never received the notice. He learned that the court’s letter had been returned as undeliverable.

A warrant was issued after Marin failed to appear. Several weeks later, police stopped her for running a stop sign and arrested her after discovering the warrant, according to her brother. A judge ordered her release that same night and moved the hearing to Oct. 27, citing what the family described as a communication error. After Marin left the police station, immigration agents detained her, her brother said. He argues that she was denied due process because she had not been convicted of a felony and missed court because she did not receive the notice. The family also questions whether ICE should have used detention at all given her diagnosis and recent treatment.

Before her illness worsened, Marin had built a life centered on education, family and travel. She earned a master’s degree in education and child development and taught English in France. Her brother described her as academically focused and especially devoted to children. She later returned to the United States, legally on a visa, to be closer to her Arizona based family, which had originally come from Romania. Around 2017, she began pursuing a green card and citizenship through her mother, a naturalized U.S. citizen. She was also known for her love of animals and traveled through Europe and the United States with her cat, Thomas.

The family has contacted the office of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, whose staff is seeking information from ICE. Kelly said the agency is responsible for protecting people in its custody and providing necessary medical care, calling the circumstances unacceptable and saying accountability is needed. U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva also called for a full investigation. For Tucson area residents, the case raises broader concerns about medical oversight and suicide prevention at a detention center serving people held by federal immigration authorities. Marin’s relatives say their immediate priority is finding out what happened inside the facility, whether she received her medication, why the family was not notified promptly and what steps will be taken to prevent another detainee from facing similar risks.