A Burlington County family is mourning the death of a 35-year-old man months after he was deported to South America, saying his long-running struggle with mental illness should have been taken into account in his immigration case. Kwesi Menezes died after overdosing on his schizophrenia medication in Guyana, according to his family. His relatives believe he would still be alive and receiving the care he needed had he not been deported in April. "Sunday morning we received the news that he was found unresponsive. He was with our family back home. He was deported by ICE," his sister, Shane Menezes Banjo, said. Menezes' mother, Sharon Menezes, questioned how her son was treated as he struggled with his mental health. "His mental health, he’s struggling to even to comprehend what’s going on. How inhumane and then label him a criminal and you don’t know him," she said. His family said Menezes had moved between mental health facilities and jail over the past several years. He served time in the Burlington County Jail for assaulting a police officer during what his family described as a mental health episode. He was jailed again after his release for breaking probation. Local Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. His family was informed in November that Menezes had been moved into ICE detention. In December, the Department of Homeland Security included Menezes on its "Worst of the Worst Criminal Aliens Arrested" list. "They painted a picture like he was just somebody, this criminal that just did all these terrible things, but he was struggling with mental illness," Banjo said. His family believes the assault charges were used to begin deportation proceedings despite Menezes being a green card holder. NBC10 reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Menezes' case but has not received a response. Immigration lawyers who spoke with NBC10 said ICE agents are examining criminal histories as potential grounds for deportation. "When we’re looking at immigration today, the rule is: Show me the crime and I’ll find you the man. It’s really not about protecting the community. It’s about finding the straw that’s gonna break the camels back immigration wise and justify a draconian, overreaching decision to deport an individual," said Renata Castro, a longtime immigration attorney and founder of immigration law firm USA 4 ALL. DHS reported record-breaking ICE arrests nationwide over the past three months, including almost 51,000 people arrested in August. As the Menezes family grieves, relatives are working to bring his remains home. "He struggled enough. I want him to rest with dignity," his mother said. The family is also sharing Menezes' story in hopes that mental health will be taken into account in other deportation cases. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.