Son Sues INS in Fatal Stroke of Mother, 66

The son of a Santa Ana woman who suffered a fatal stroke while being interrogated by an immigration agent at Los Angeles International Airport has filed a federal lawsuit against the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Steve Shih Tsung Hwang, a U.S. citizen and orthopedic surgeon, claims his mother, Chen Seu-Ing Hwang, 66, died because of “the harassment and unnecessary pressure” put on her by the INS agent.

Hwang is asking for $1.5 million for his mother’s estate and $1.5 million for himself. The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Virginia Kice, an INS spokeswoman, said the agency has no comment on Hwang’s lawsuit because it is pending litigation.

Legal Resident

Hwang, who was a legal resident of the United States, arrived at the airport Sept. 17, 1987, on a flight from Taipei, Taiwan, said Howard Hom, an attorney representing the son.

She was returning from a stay of almost a year in Taiwan, where she went to handle her husband’s estate after he died on a visit to Taiwan, Hom said.

According to the suit, the immigration agent, identified as Inspector Craig Porter, “interrogated her at length and tried to get her to admit she was not a United States resident and had been away more than a year.” A resident alien forfeits his or her permit, or “green card,” if abroad 12 months or longer.

“But she wasn’t gone longer than 12 months and although she could not communicate in English, her relatives in Taiwan had written a note explaining the purpose of her trip,” Hom said.

Issued Warning

“After being unable to extract those false admissions from Mrs. Hwang, (the agent) informed Mrs. Hwang that if she went back to Taiwan, he would confiscate her green card,” the suit said.

The agent got a Japan Airlines employee to help interpret for Hwang. But, the suit alleges, Porter then asked Hwang if she would be going back to Taiwan at any time in the future. When she replied she would, he repeated his threat, the suit said. At that moment, she collapsed and suffered the stroke, the suit said.