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In Support of Rep. Lofgren's Efforts to Combat Unnecessary Deaths in U.S. Detention Centers

New York, NY - The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children applauds Rep. Zoe Lofgren's (D-CA) introduction of H.R. 5950, the "Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008," and urges swift passage of the bill. Coming in the wake of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) admission of medical negligence in the treatment of Francisco Castañeda, who died shortly following release from immigration detention after being refused treatment for cancer, this legislation provides critical procedures for the provision of medical and mental health care to immigration detainees. It will help ensure that immigration detainees are afforded minimum standards of medical and mental health care during the time they are in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.

Although basic medical standards should already be an ingrained tenet of all programs administered by the DHS, Mr. Castañeda's death, along with the deaths of dozens of others in immigration detention, serve as a tragic reminder of the failure of our immigration system to protect the basic human rights of the persons entrusted to its care.

These distressing accounts are consistent with the findings of the Women's Commission's 2006 report, "Locking Up Family Values: The Detention of Immigrant Families" (written with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) which uncovered grossly inappropriate medical and mental health care, including a lack of prenatal and pediatrics care. Says Michelle Brané, director of the Women's Commission's Detention and Asylum Program and co-author of the report, "In a system where public outcry is needed to get a pediatrician on staff in a facility housing children, it is no surprise that we are seeing an unacceptably high number of deaths in these centers. This isn't the way we expect people to be treated in the United States."

On May 5, The New York Times reported on the 2007 death of Boubacar Bah, a 52-year-old tailor from Guinea. His name was one of 66 on a government list of detention deaths obtained from ICE by the newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act. Mr. Bah suffered a skull fracture and multiple brain hemorrhages in the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey, and had been left in an isolation cell there without treatment for more than 14 hours.

The need for congressionally mandated medical and mental health procedures for immigration detention is a direct result of the Department of Homeland Security's failure to provide appropriate oversight in its detention facilities, and of contractors operating on its behalf, including private prison corporations and the Public Health Service. Independent monitoring, transparency, and humane treatment are critical components of an effective immigration system that treats detainees with dignity. Denial of care and an unwillingness to use alternatives to detention are indicators of a flawed system that is contrary not only to American values, but to the Constitution itself. The Women's Commission urges ICE to release detainees, especially vulnerable individuals such as those with severe medical conditions, into community-based or other alternatives programs with proven effectiveness in ensuring court appearance and compliance.

The Women's Commission also strongly recommends the creation of an independent medical oversight mechanism for immigration detention and the development of clear and codified standards for medical and mental health care.