Care at the Immigrant Detention Centers

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The May 11-14 front-page series "Careless Detention" implicitly raised the question of what purpose is served by incarcerating some 33,000 migrants and asylum seekers in the United States each day.

The scapegoating of migrants and asylum seekers and the deliberate fueling of fear by some politicians and parts of the media have been accompanied by measures that have trampled on their most basic human rights, including the right to liberty and personal security. In this atmosphere, detention is used as a punishment of first resort rather than as a measure of last resort, and the absence of oversight and accountability, severe overcrowding, outbreaks of contagious diseases, and poor nutrition and neglect -- if not worse -- lead to abuses and deaths.

Detained migrants should be provided with an effective opportunity to challenge the decision to detain them. Incredibly, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not currently required to meet this minimal standard.

SARNATA REYNOLDS

Refugee and Migrant Director

Amnesty International USA

Washington

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The recounting in "Careless Detention" of the health struggles of immigrants held in detention facilities in the United States was painful to read. I cannot fathom why we treat people who come here to help their families and escape horrific circumstances without a shred of human dignity.

I pray that Congress and the American people will demand better. Only if we affirm the dignity of each person and ensure that our public servants respectfully care for the most vulnerable among us can we be proud of our country.

PAT PHIBBS

Alexandria

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I was upset about The Post's narrow position on the supposed mistreatment of illegal aliens and others in immigration detention centers. These people are there for breaking laws, and it is hard to do everything 100 percent correctly when there are more than 30,000 people in these facilities.

Why did the series so narrowly focus on the relatively few who are potentially mistreated? Why did it not mention that each American citizen suffers increased health-care costs and diminished education because of the millions of illegal aliens in this country?

AL WESSOL

Manassas

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Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein's series on medical care in immigration detention highlighted the case of Victoria Arellano (whom The Post referred to as Victor Alfonso Arellano), a 23-year-old transgendered detainee who died of AIDS while in federal custody [front page, May 11]. Human Rights Watch issued a report in December focusing on this case as but one example of the substandard care provided to detainees with HIV and AIDS.

HIV-positive detainees are particularly vulnerable to discrimination and harassment in the 450 detention centers, prisons and local jails used by the Department of Homeland Security. The department keeps no comprehensive statistics on HIV or AIDS cases among detainees and offers them no testing, counseling or education programs.

Human Rights Watch joins other advocates in urging passage of the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act, which is sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). This legislation establishes a threshold of services that the DHS must provide to all detainees.

Equally important, the bill promotes accountability to Congress and to the public for any deaths that occur in immigration detention.

MEGAN McLEMORE

Researcher, HIV-AIDS and Human Rights Program

Human Rights Watch

New York

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The Division of Immigration Health Services, part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had numerous problems during the three years I worked there, from poorly qualified employees to cumbersome processes, including the managed-care system. However, problems at some sites should not be generalized to all, and a desire to expose injustice should not lead to inflammatory, poorly supported statements.

As clinical director at one compound in Arizona, I focused on making sure that all detainees received quality care and were treated with dignity by our staff. A few points I'd like to emphasize about the May 12 article, which focused on the facility where I worked:

· All detainees at our facility received an initial medical screening.

· I sent records to the specialists treating all of my patients. However, as is often the case in private practice as well, these documents were not always incorporated into the off-site medical record.

· I did not resign abruptly; I gave notice in February and left in August.

I worked very hard within and often against a broken system and successfully provided high-quality medical care to people in difficult situations at a well-run ICE facility.

ELIZABETH FLEMING

Buenos Aires