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Medical failures at US detention centers linked to deaths of eight immigrants Medical failures at US detention centers linked to deaths of eight immigrants
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A failure to comply with medical standards contributed to the deaths of eight immigrants held in detention between 2010 and 2012, according to newly obtained documents from the Office of Detention Oversight, which investigates deaths in custody for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.A failure to comply with medical standards contributed to the deaths of eight immigrants held in detention between 2010 and 2012, according to newly obtained documents from the Office of Detention Oversight, which investigates deaths in custody for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The deaths account for nearly half of the 17 cases examined by the American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigrant Justice Center and Detention Watch Network after the groups filed an open records request on the subject.The deaths account for nearly half of the 17 cases examined by the American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigrant Justice Center and Detention Watch Network after the groups filed an open records request on the subject.
A 2012 death review indicates medical staff at the the Denver Contract Detention Facility waited more than an hour to call 911 after Evalin-Ali Mandza, a 46-year-old immigrant from Gabon, suffered a heart attack. The facility is operated by the private-prison company, Geo Group.A 2012 death review indicates medical staff at the the Denver Contract Detention Facility waited more than an hour to call 911 after Evalin-Ali Mandza, a 46-year-old immigrant from Gabon, suffered a heart attack. The facility is operated by the private-prison company, Geo Group.
A review of Gabon’s death conducted by a contractor for ODO found a nurse waited to call 911 “while she continued processing the necessary paperwork” to transfer him to an off-site medical facility. The review found medical staff “were unfamiliar with the institution’s Chest Pain Protocol, appropriate cardiac medication was not administered, and the time it took to transport the patient to a higher-level care facility, all may have been contributing factors to the death of the patient.” A review of Mandza’s death conducted by a contractor for ODO found a nurse waited to call 911 “while she continued processing the necessary paperwork” to transfer him to an off-site medical facility. The review found medical staff “were unfamiliar with the institution’s Chest Pain Protocol, appropriate cardiac medication was not administered, and the time it took to transport the patient to a higher-level care facility, all may have been contributing factors to the death of the patient.”
Death reviews were a key reform ICE implemented in 2009 after a similar Freedom of Information request yielded documents that prompted a series of reports on medical neglect. Other reforms included the adoption of new detention standards and a facility inspection process.Death reviews were a key reform ICE implemented in 2009 after a similar Freedom of Information request yielded documents that prompted a series of reports on medical neglect. Other reforms included the adoption of new detention standards and a facility inspection process.
But the facility where Mandza was detained passed its inspection after his death and the inspection report claimed he “received a timely and comprehensive medical and mental health screening and physical assessment”.But the facility where Mandza was detained passed its inspection after his death and the inspection report claimed he “received a timely and comprehensive medical and mental health screening and physical assessment”.
ACLU attorney Carl Takei said: “The inspection reports show that instead of using the death reviews to change things, ICE’s deficient inspection system essentially swept findings under the rug.”ACLU attorney Carl Takei said: “The inspection reports show that instead of using the death reviews to change things, ICE’s deficient inspection system essentially swept findings under the rug.”
Dora Schriro, the former special advisor to ICE for DHS who evaluated conditions in immigrant detention centers in 2009 and recommended many of the reforms, said the new “ICE standards are based on correction law. But what we see too often is that in practice it deviates from them in fairly substantive ways.”Dora Schriro, the former special advisor to ICE for DHS who evaluated conditions in immigrant detention centers in 2009 and recommended many of the reforms, said the new “ICE standards are based on correction law. But what we see too often is that in practice it deviates from them in fairly substantive ways.”
She was especially critical of how ICE relies on contractors for its new inspection process. “If you don’t know exactly what to ask for and what it looks like if you got it … then I think you’ll continue to cycle along in this way,” Schriro said.She was especially critical of how ICE relies on contractors for its new inspection process. “If you don’t know exactly what to ask for and what it looks like if you got it … then I think you’ll continue to cycle along in this way,” Schriro said.
In a statement responding to the report, ICE said it “remains committed to providing a safe and humane environment for all those in its custody, including affording access to necessary and appropriate healthcare.”In a statement responding to the report, ICE said it “remains committed to providing a safe and humane environment for all those in its custody, including affording access to necessary and appropriate healthcare.”
Takei said ICE refused to expedite the records request originally made in 2012 on the grounds that the information was “retrospective” and that it failed to prove they “would have a bearing on future situations”.Takei said ICE refused to expedite the records request originally made in 2012 on the grounds that the information was “retrospective” and that it failed to prove they “would have a bearing on future situations”.
The report he contributed to, titled Fatal Neglect: How ICE Ignores Deaths in Detention, calls for increased transparency, and recommends that ICE publish all death reviews online, and create an independent medical advisory committee “It should be a priority before the end of President Obama’s administration,” said Mary Small, policy director at the Detention Watch Network.The report he contributed to, titled Fatal Neglect: How ICE Ignores Deaths in Detention, calls for increased transparency, and recommends that ICE publish all death reviews online, and create an independent medical advisory committee “It should be a priority before the end of President Obama’s administration,” said Mary Small, policy director at the Detention Watch Network.