Report: ICE Failed to Prevent Most Detainee Deaths Due to Inadequate Medical Care
Report shows ICE failures in preventing deaths of detainees due to inadequate medical care from 2017-2021.
A report released on May 25, 2022, by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Physicians for Human Rights, and American Oversight highlights significant shortcomings in medical care provided to individuals in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) between 2017 and 2021.
Preventable Deaths
The report, spanning 76 pages, examined the deaths of 52 individuals in ICE custody during this period. After reviewing over 14,500 pages of documents and reports, including investigatory records from ICE, six medical experts, including professionals from esteemed institutions such as Columbia University and Yale School of Medicine, concluded that 49 of the 52 deaths were preventable, likely preventable, or possibly preventable.
The report provides detailed case studies of individuals who could have been saved with proper medical attention. For instance, Jesse Jerome Dean Jr., a detainee from the Bahamas, died from an undiagnosed gastrointestinal hemorrhage despite showing severe symptoms. Similarly, Kamyar Samimi, a man from Iran, passed away after his medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder was abruptly discontinued, leading to preventable complications.
Failures and Consequences
The report highlights systemic failures, including incomplete or delayed treatment, mismanagement of medication, and lack of monitoring, which contributed to these tragic outcomes. In one instance, Emigdio Abel Reyes Clemente died from undiagnosed and untreated bacterial pneumonia in a solitary medical isolation cell, as the facility's medical staff assumed, without testing, that he had influenza.
Insufficient Mental Health Care
The report also underscores the increase in suicide deaths due to inadequate mental health care within ICE facilities. Jean Jiménez, a man from Panama, took his own life after the facility failed to address his diagnosis of schizophrenia effectively.
The authors of the report call for substantial changes, including the release of individuals with medical and mental health vulnerabilities from custody and the prompt medical screening of detained immigrants to identify those at increased risk. Ultimately, the report advocates for the dismantling of ICE's detention program until such reforms can be realized.
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