ICE detainee Arbella Rodriguez Marquez has been kept inside Eloy’s detention center, despite her suffering from leukemia. Her fragile condition makes confinement especially dangerous. She is now not even receiving proper medical care. On the other hand, countless others are supporting her, demanding that the federal agency expedite her release.
For the unversed, the 40-year-old is a lawful permanent resident from Phoenix. ICE arrested her earlier this year while she was found crossing the Nogales border from Mexico. Arbella was accompanied by her partner, Sonia Almaraz, who’s also a U.S. citizen.
The couple is currently quite tense, since there is no possible reason why ICE would have arrested them, as both are legal residents of the United States of America. As for Sonia, she claimed, “I’m scared. I don’t want her to be the next person to die in Eloy Detention Center.”
She’s also more worried about Arbella, who has lost about 70 pounds already due to leukemia amid no proper medical care during her detention. There have also been complaints of her vomiting blood, coughing, and bruising, all of which have rendered her in a wheelchair.
In Yari’s recent letter, read by Arbella to the supporters outside, the former’s health is rapidly deteriorating without any proper medication to her rescue. Yari has explained her condition as “It is the most intense, exhausting, and desperate battle I’ve had in years. It is hell on earth as I see it.”
Today’s update from Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari. 👇
“I spent two hours with Yari yesterday after being let in to the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. She’s extremely sick. She told me she vomits blood several times a week—and I witnessed it myself.”pic.twitter.com/bPkdCXd2BA
— LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) November 6, 2025
Her partner, Sonia, revealed that the former has only been given Tylenol and medication for a stomach ulcer, but nothing for her leukemia. Sharing details of Yari’s current condition, Almaraz said, “Her body is beginning to collapse, she’s experiencing swelling, blotches, bruises, fatigue, and extreme dehydration due to the lack of medical care and proper treatment.”
For context, Yari is a well-known member of Phoenix’s LGBTQ+ community and a popular figure in its local music scene. Arbella is also widely recognized by several trans-queer advocacy groups. Sonia Almaraz even shared the shocking details of the moment when ICE officers arrested them as their car was passing through the point of entry.
What was first assumed to be an inspection soon turned into a moment when the partners were separated. Sonia was put alone in a cage and had no clue where they had taken Arbella. Speaking with The Copper Courier, Almaraz further revealed that it was only after 2 days that she got a call from the detention center, which was when she got to know where her partner had been taken.
During the shutdown, Rep. @RepYassAnsari is prioritizing services for undocumented immigrants, including those like Arbella “Yari” Rodriguez Marquez, a former green card holder battling cancer. Ansari says they still count as constituents, despite not being eligible to vote.…
— AZ Free News (@AZFreeNews) November 15, 2025
Despite the growing pressure on her release, ICE has not responded to repeated requests for comment. Meanwhile, leaders from Arizona, including Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, have strongly condemned the case and are demanding accountability from ICE. Medical neglect is a serious issue, and if Yari’s health further deteriorates to the worst extreme, the agency and the detention centre will be liable for death due to neglect.
Speaking of the notorious Eloy Detention Center, it has a well-documented past of some of the most dangerous cases of medical neglect. Since 2005, there have been at least 16 preventable deaths that have occurred here. To date, there have been 20 deaths in 2025 alone. Several advocacy groups in the past have underlined the severe, inhumane conditions in which the detainees are kept over here, not to forget the purported delay in medical treatment being handed out.
