[ad_1]
Immigrant rights activists on Monday lodged a joint lawsuit in the Federal Court against the Trump administration, alleging that the lack of surveillance by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security had caused serious deficiencies in mental and medical care and discrimination against detainees. disabled people in nearly 160 institutions across the country.
The lawsuit was filed in a US District Court
in Los Angeles by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Center for Civil Rights Education and Law Enforcement, the Disability Rights Advocates and the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. The groups are not seeking damages, but are instead asking the court to ensure that ICE is closely monitoring its facilities and improving the health care provided to the approximately 55,000 detained immigrants each day.
Lawyers have long argued that detainees, especially those living in rural settlements, are delayed and denied health care. Many legal actions have already been initiated on behalf of specific persons held by ICE. Monday's complaint, however, states that the agency systematically denies care to those in its custody.
Guardian distributes lunch at Adelanto West Detention Center.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Complainants, including 15 current and two non-profit organizations, report that ICE and its parent agency, DHS, have not taken action against what they describe as medical and mental health care dangerously inadequate, excessive use of solitary confinement and inadequate accommodation for the disabled.
The lawsuit cites cases of detainees confined in their cells without access to a wheelchair or cane, to diabetics deprived of insulin and to those suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder kept in isolation during months.
Private companies run most of the country's detention centers. It costs the federal government an average of $ 134 a day to maintain an adult custody Fiscal year 2018 budget for ICE. The National Immigration Forum calculates a higher cost of $ 208 per day. According to the CIE budget, every single bed in a family residential center that keeps mothers or fathers with their children costs about $ 319 a day.
Counsel say issues such as lack of staff, unskilled medical providers and delays or refusals of treatment are not limited to a few institutions but are widespread and systemic. They say that immigrants with viable legal claims are forced to choose between continuing to suffer in detention or giving
on their cases.
"ICE can not just contract with third parties to operate its detention centers, then wash their hands of deplorable and illegal conditions in these detention centers," said Tim Fox, executive co-director of CREEC.
Detainees call from their place of residence to the Adelanto Detention Center.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
ICE spends more than $ 250 million a year on health services. According to the agency, inmates undergo a complete physical examination within two weeks of arrival to identify medical, mental health and dental issues requiring monitoring or treatment. Nine of the 396,000 inmates died in custody of ICE during the 2018 fiscal year.
Spokesperson, Shawn Neudauer, said the agency was not commenting on the pending litigation, but that "the absence of comment should in no way be interpreted as suggesting that ICE thinks that it is not the case. an action in particular is founded. "
Seven of the complainants are being held at California facilities.
Abdullah Fraihat, a 57-year-old man detained at the ICE Adelanto Treatment Center near Victorville since December 2016, was denied a sight operation recommended by an off-site physician in April. Last month, a doctor told him that his vision had deteriorated too harshly to be restored.
Marco Montoya Amaya, a 41-year-old inmate at the ICE Mesa Verde Treatment Center near Bakersfield, was diagnosed with end-stage neurocysticercosis – an invasive but treatable brain parasite that causes epilepsy – but he did not receive any treatment, according to the lawsuit.
The Adelanto Detention Center, where detainees have long been accused of medical negligence, mistreatment by warders, lack of response to complaints and other problems.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Luis Manuel Rodriguez Delgadillo, a 29-year-old detainee from Adelanto suffering from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, had stabilized his mental health through medication, family support, and medical care. help from a psychiatrist before detention. But since her detention in May, drug changes, the lack of treatment and the worsening of stressors have made her miss two days of trial after being placed under medical observation for expressing suicidal thoughts.
ICE arrested more than 55,000 people in early August. This represents an average of 34,000 people per day in 2016, which is significantly higher than the goal of less than 41,000 set by Congress.
A review conducted by the DHS Inspector General's office revealed 14,000 health and safety "deficiencies" identified during various inspections of contracted facilities between October 2015 and June 2018. "These deficiencies include those that compromise the security and rights of detainees, such as ICE on sexual assault, "noted the Inspector General. "Despite these shortcomings identified, ICE has only twice imposed financial penalties."
Karlyn Kurichety, a lawyer at the non-profit organization Al Otro Lado, said the organization was barred from taking on new business because she had to spend a lot of time defending what she called survival of clients in custody.
Kurichety explained that several clients had had a miscarriage while in detention, that HIV-positive clients were being held without access to their medication, and that clients with contagious diseases such as chicken pox or measles had spent months in quarantine without access to a lawyer.
"Clients with severe untreated health problems that are often caused or exacerbated by their detention can not simultaneously defend themselves from eviction while struggling for their lives because of illness," she said. .
[ad_2]
Source link