A delay in medical care that may be related to two deaths has been reported by detainees at three US immigration detention centers, according to a human rights report.
The three facilities in or close to Miami, Florida, Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center, and the Federal Detention Center, detailed women being held in male facilities, rampant overcrowding, and potentially fatal indifference to medical needs.
The abuses, according to its authors, underscore one more aspect of President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign’s human trafficking, which has forced numerous facilities to function beyond their capacity. The administration has also pushed for a massive expansion of deportation infrastructure, including the state-built “Alligator Alcatraz,” which raises their own issues and condemnation.
The associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch, which co-authored the report with Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South, warned that “people in immigration detention are being treated as less than human” in a statement that came with the release of the 92-page report.
These incidents are not isolated incidents, but rather the result of a deeply flawed and abuse-ridden detention system, according to Wille.
medical malpractice
The report detailed a lax approach to medical care at the three facilities, including denial of treatment and medication, using current and former inmate testimony, information from family members, lawyers, and information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency data.
When Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian national, experienced what would prove to be a fatal medical emergency at the Broward Transitional Center, a detainee reported that guards ignored cries for help in late April.
According to the report, the detainee claimed that the guards ignored her and that we began yelling for help. She was still standing when a rescue team arrived more than half an hour later.
The detainee who described the death claimed that she was also subject to punishment for seeking mental health care, noting that requests for such care were frequently solitaryd.
In another instance, the 44-year-old Ukrainian woman’s wife claimed Maksym Chernyak’s requests to see a doctor were repeatedly postponed because he had a fever, chest pain, and other symptoms while incarcerated in Krome. His wife claims that when he saw a doctor, his wife discovered that he had an elevated blood pressure that needed to be treated.
A cellmate reported that guards responded in 15 to 20 minutes when Chernyak later started vomiting, drooling, and defecating on himself. The cellmate, who was the only one to identify himself as Carlos, claimed that Chernyak had taken illegal synthetic drugs when they did it.
Chernyak was taken off a stretcher, taken to a hospital, and later declared brain dead.
degrading and overcrowding
The report noted widespread overcrowding with detainees who claimed their cell sizes were sometimes more than twice as high as they could at Krome across the three facilities.
Some detainees were forced to sleep on the floor because of the crowding, which resulted in a shortage of toiletries, soap, and other supplies.
Despite being a male-only facility, Krome also handled female processing. Women in the center claimed to be denied access to showers and made to use open restrooms, which might be seen by the male population.
A woman from Argentina claimed that if the men had sat down on a chair, they would have a view of our room and the bathroom. We pleaded for access to the restroom, but the hotel said it was against the law because it was only for men.
Other alleged abuses include excessive force, insufficient food preparation, prolonged shackling, and extreme heat and cold exposure. Detainees described 30 to 40 people being forced to use a bucket as a toilet in a room intended for six.
After being detained by ICE at a regular immigration appointment in February, British businessman Harpinder Chauhan recounted one response from detention center authorities. He spent months switching between facilities.
They warned us that if we pressed on, it would lead to issues we wouldn’t like, he said.
domestic and international law violations
Overall, according to the report’s authors, the allegations constitute federal US immigration detention policies and international law violations.
Despite lacking the necessary resources, they claimed the conditions demonstrated the effects of Trump’s plan to implement mass deportations, which is based on the fact that immigrant criminality is widespread in the US.
Since Trump took office on January 20, the number of people who are typically subject to their right to contest their deportations has increased steadily, from 39, 238 on January 26, to 56, and 816 on July 13, according to information collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
The Trump administration’s detention capacity is expected to increase from 40, 000 to 100, 000 beds by the end of the year, according to The Wall Street Journal, largely by placing a top priority on quick-build tent facilities on military installations and ICE properties.
Trump signed a tax- and spending bill that will add an unprecedented $45 billion to new detention facilities, leading to the construction drive.
Source: Aljazeera
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