Are proper medical standards being upheld in immigrant detention centers?

No

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by Cecilia Candia

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A report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security noted that four out of the five facilities it investigated had "instances of non-compliance" regarding health care, "including timely initial and responsive medical care."

ICE has confirmed that there have been 63 deaths of immigrants in custody since 2004.

Sandra M. Kenley, a legal resident in the U.S. for over 30 years, was taken into custody for two old misdemeanor drug convictions, which together are a deportable offense. She had been clean for three years, completed a nursing course and had gained custody of her 1 year old granddaughter. Before her detention she was being treated for high blood pressure, a fibroid tumor and uterine bleeding, and was scheduled for surgery. Her detainment in Virginia disrupted her treatment and she died in 2005 from an enlarged heart caused by her untreated hypertension.

Young Sook Kim, about 60 years old, died in federal custody in a New Mexico facility on September 11th, 2006. According to her cell mates, she had been pleading with officials for medical attention for weeks, which she received only after her eyes had yellowed and she had stopped eating. The autopsy revealed that she had pancreatic cancer.

Abdoulai Sall, 50, whose lawyer petitioned officials for medical attention, died in a detention center in Virginia on December of 2006 from a serious kidney ailment that worsened as it went untreated.

In the last month there have been three documented preventable deaths of immigrant detainees in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) custody.

Victoria Arellano, an HIV+ transgender woman living in California who officials housed in the male facility, was denied her antibiotics and given medical attention only after 80 of her fellow detainees organized a protest as she was vomiting blood. She died on July 20th, shackled to her hospital bed.

Rosa Isela Contreras was 7 weeks pregnant when she lost conciousness after complaining of leg pain. She died on August 1st.

Edman Alves de Araujo, an epileptic man living in Massachusetts, was arrested by local police at around 2 pm on August 7th. His sister brought his medication to the station as soon as she heard, and pleaded with police saying that he couldn't skip a single day. They turned her away and handed Edman over to ICE at 3 pm. He was pronounced dead at 4:18 pm, but his family did not find out until the next day.

These deaths, regardless of one's opinion on immigration, are abhorrent and cruel.
(article first published by Cecilia Candia in WMCIWR.blogspot.com, August 2007)

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