Jun 17th, 2008
Posted by Tom Jawetz, National Prison Project at 2:46pm	Immigrants' Rights, Prisoners' Rights

U.N. Expert Hears Problems With Immigration Detention Medical Care

Yesterday, the ACLU formally welcomed a fact-finding mission to the U.S. by Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions. Early this morning, my colleague Jody Kent and I had the opportunity to personally welcome him to our Washington, D.C., office with a cup of coffee and some conversation regarding deaths in U.S. jails, prisons, and immigration detention facilities.

The issue of deaths in immigration custody has gotten a good deal of press attention recently, and two weeks ago Congress held a hearing on the broader problem of poor medical care in immigration detention and the lack of transparency and oversight over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the entity responsible for immigration detention. (You can read our testimony at the hearing.)

We spoke with Special Rapporteur Alston about the breadth of the problem, and offered some thoughts about what we believe might be done to address the problem. One important start is the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008, a bill that has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) (H.R. 5950) and in the Senate by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) (S. 3005). The Act would require ICE to create some important policies that would help to ensure that detainees receive basic medical services, and that Congress and the Inspectors General of both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice have an opportunity to perform necessary oversight over in-custody deaths.

But while the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act is an important step in the right direction, it is certainly not a panacea. As we explained to Special Rapporteur Alston, the key problem is our country’s overreliance on detention in general, but more specifically with respect to vulnerable populations such as survivors of torture, asylum-seekers, and people with severe medical and mental health problems who pose no danger to society and clearly are not a flight risk.

For these individuals and others, they are alternatives to secure detention that are more humane, less punitive, and extremely effective at ensuring attendance at immigration proceedings. The bean counters out there will also appreciate how much taxpayer money the federal government could save by pursuing these superior alternatives.

Permalink |	Immigrants' Rights, Prisoners' Rights

1. Annie Says:
   Jun 17th, 2008 at 4:15pm

   I've been researching and blogging about the growing body of evidence that demonstrates the systematic use of psychologists, nurses and physicians by the US gov't as agents of abuse and torture.

   One aspect I still have been unable to discern is under what regulations and authority "federalized" nurses, physicians and other licensed healthcare professionals practice.

   In the case of nurses, who I understand must hold a current license from any of the US states or territories regardless of where they actually practice, an ICE official wrote to the Arizona State Board of Nursing, as reported by Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein in their Careless Detention series in the Washington Post, and claimed that the Constitution "Supremacy" clause negated the authority of that state board over DIHS nurses working in that state.

   Could you explain how this works or point me to references so that I can learn about it?

   I blog at Home of the Brave

2. Dred Says:
   Jul 8th, 2008 at 1:46pm

   You guys are always crying about border jumpers being treated unfair and inhumane. what about all the illegals who come to america and kill americans? More americans have been killed by illegal immigrants in the past 5 years than have died in the whole war on terror including iraq and afganistan. Thats a FACT! you guys are crying about the detainees in guantanomo and fighting to get them released so they can go back to the battlefield and kill more americans. It seems to me that the aclu cares more about the rights of terrorists and illegals than the american people. the aclu makes me sick!

3. Dred Says:
   Jul 8th, 2008 at 1:50pm

   go ahead and mod me aclu even though its my freedom of speach that you guys "fight to protect". but im sure your bias will not allow the opinion of someone that doesnt agree with your opinions

4. Shambhala Says:
   Jul 9th, 2008 at 2:37pm

   I agree with Dred. Dont flatter yourselves. We non-Mexican Latinos dont catch the vapors when bad things happen to illegal (therefore CRIMINAL) Mexicans.

5. Llanero Says:
   Jul 23rd, 2008 at 12:35am

   Can Shambhala say coconut?

6. Llanero Says:
   Jul 23rd, 2008 at 12:40am

   ¡Bien hecho! ¡Viva la ACLU!

7. victhestick Says:
   Aug 24th, 2008 at 6:32pm

   According to the Peninsula Daily News Aug 24, 2008, the U.S. Border Patrol has checkpoints set up at various, changing places in Jefferson County. The stated purpose is to catch illegals, but they also say they work "in conjunction with local law enforcement to arrest felons, seize drugs and weapons, and to deter illegal activity".
   Can this possibly be legal? They are stopping cars for no reason, looking in those cars with no warrants or reason to believe something illegal is happening in them.
   In response to complaints the supervisor in charge says people don't question doctors or lawyers "But you will see people trying to tell us how to do our job, even though we're trained to do it."
   I find these checkpoints worrysome and cannot believe they are legal. Am I wrong?

8. bzegial Says:
   Sep 26th, 2008 at 10:32am

   This is something for all you haters.

   For you James:
   There are many insurance companies selling insurance to illegal aliens everyday taking advantage of the situation. Whose fault is this? Nor the illegals, they just wanna work and be left alone. I would rather be hit by someone who has insurance than someone who does not, wouldnt you?

   For you Anti:
   People coming to the US and having kids trying to get help from the government is one problem, what does that have to do with immigration? Nothing. Stick to the subject at hand. As for you taxes?
   Tell Sheriff Arpio you want your money back. In case you haven't noticed, he
   decided to start picking up illegals just because he can and using YOUR money to feed them and take care of them and mind you even sending back to their home on a plane. What do think of that?