Her son says Paige Adamson, who lived in Point Roberts, Wash., declined treatment after a fall because she feared U.S. deportation action would leave her unable to return home.
The Story
Dylan Adamson says his 61-year-old mother, Paige Adamson, died after taking a fall at her home in Point Roberts, Washington, earlier this month, and that she refused to seek hospital care because she was afraid U.S. authorities would detain her or prevent her from returning to Canada.
Adamson said his mother was afraid to leave the United States because immigration authorities had recently commenced deportation proceedings, alleging she illicitly voted in a state election in 2018. He said Point Roberts has limited health care and is cut off from the rest of the United States, accessible by land only by travelling through British Columbia.
He said he only learned about the fall after speaking with a firefighter who attended the scene last Sunday, within a week of the accident. Adamson said he had been told paramedics who saw his mother before her death said she needed to go to a hospital, but she signed a form declining further care because she feared crossing the border.
Adamson said his mother did not recall registering to vote or casting a ballot, and that the deportation proceedings sent her into a “panic.” He also said the concerns intensified after American border officials held Paige Adamson for hours when she was heading home from a birthday dinner in nearby Tsawwassen, B.C., where she was questioned about voting in the country.
Adamson said his mother’s death was driven by the fear of being caught up in the deportation process and being unable to come back. “I’m just at a loss. Just because of a vote, my mom is dead. Just because of a stupid technicality, my mom is dead.”
← More stories