PRESS STATEMENT: Immigrant Detainee Dies at Mass. Hospital

A Tragic Reminder that Detention System Needs Reform

BOSTON -- On Monday, October 19, Pedro Juan Tavarez, a 49-year-old native of the Dominican Republic in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, died at Women and Bringham's Hospital in Boston.

ICE was holding Tavarez on immigration violations at The Suffolk County House of Corrections, which transferred him to Brigham and Women's after the correction facility's medical staff suggested possible pneumonia. The hospital was treating Tavarez for heart and respiratory conditions when he died, but the official cause of death has not yet been determined by the medical examiner.

"Mr. Tavarez's death is a tragedy," said Eva Millona, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). "We don't yet know if his passing could have been avoided. But we do know that the current immigration-detention system relies on a decentralized network of local jails that, in many respects, is simply inhumane. It treats the civil infraction of 'immigration violation' like a criminal offense, and it does not adequately protect the health of its most vulnerable detainees."

MIRA applauds the Obama Administration's acknowledgment of the seriousness of the problem. In August, ICE announced plans to "move away from a jail-oriented approach to a system wholly designed for and based on ICE's civil detention authorities." (See the ICE fact sheet). But the process won't be complete for three to five years, and the gravity of this delay was recognized earlier this month in a report by Dora B. Schriro, then ICE's Office of Detention Policy and Planning Director, who wrote a top-to-bottom appraisal of the system before quitting to become New York City's correction commissioner. As The New York Times wrote, the report "calls for prompt attention to individual complaints about a lack of medical care." In an interview with the Times, Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano could only promise "to implement a system to better place people with medical or mental health needs" within six months.

"Six months is not good enough," said Millona. "Five years is far worse. The detention system demands immediate reform because too often its flaws have led to fatal consequences. We ask Governor Patrick, Massachusetts county authorities, and the individual detention facilities to start implementing reforms now. For too many immigrant detainees -- many of whom are hardworking family members who have broken no criminal laws -- this is truly a life and death issue."

Good News at the End of a Long Week

After a long week that included sharp cuts in funding to many essential programs and services across the state, including some to programs and services for immigrants and refugees, it is nice to see the potential of our advocacy efforts. For those of you who are not familiar with the story of the Ateaga family, it started here. Thanks to advocacy efforts by MIRA and others, this is the end of the story for now:

Series of Stories Highlight Injustice of U.S. Immigration System

A number of stories appeared in the news today that highlighted the various injustices that are currently masquerading as an immigration system in the U.S.

First, The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen wrote an op-ed profiling the impact of ICE's indiscriminate enforcement policies on the families of hard-working, tax-paying immigrants in the U.S. A father now faces deportation, while the rest of his family and its livelihood slowly slips away. His wife is left with the job of explaining to the family's four year old what is happening to his father:

Their youngest, the 4-year-old, sat in the circle at play group the other day and tried to explain what was going on to his buddies.

"The 4-year-old can't begin to fathom it, and I can't fathom how to explain it to him," Leah Arteaga was saying.

What is ICE's response? Nothing out of the ordinary, they used their normal refrain of "routine, targeted fugitive operation." I wonder if this report backs that assertion up? If you don't have time to read it, the answer is NO.

The New York Times ran another story highlighting the deplorable conditions of immigrant detention in the U.S., where ICE is having a hard time keeping track of the number of detainees who have died in detention. If last week's Amnesty International report and Keith Olbermann's tirade against U.S. detention policy wasn't enough, the Times article discusses the vanishing act that DHS and ICE tried to pull when a detainee died of a heart attack in 2005.

There have been a number of high-profile cases involving the death of immigrants in detention as the article details:

As Congress and the news media brought new scrutiny to the issue, several detention deaths have highlighted problems with medical care and accountability. In one, a Chinese computer engineer’s extensive cancer and fractured spine went undiagnosed at a Rhode Island jail until shortly before he died, despite his pleas for help. In another, records show a Guinean tailor who suffered a skull fracture in a New Jersey jail was left in isolation without treatment for more than 13 hours.

These unjust and inhumane practices need to stop immediately. If they don't we'll continue to here stories like this one:

The union learned that the inspector general’s office had written up a synopsis of the allegations for investigation by the immigration agency, saying that “Ahmad Tander,” a Pakistani detainee housed at the Monmouth jail, had died “from a heart attack whose symptoms were obvious, severe and ignored until it was too late,” amid “conditions of neglect and indifference to medical needs.”

MIRA, Amnesty International, ACLU, and Others Protest Quadrupling of Immigrant Detention

On Friday, more than 300 people protested the dramatic rise of immigrant detention in New England, where the average number of currently detained immigrants has tripled, and the U.S., where that number has quadrupled.

"It is time for us to stand up and say enough," said Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), who called on Congress to create a path to legal residency for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. "The cycle must end."

Not only have the numbers increased, but conditions have continued to be deplorable, with many immigrants in detention lacking adequate health care and access to legal representation. Unfortunately, an alarming 74 immigrants have died in detention over the past five years.

And while it is trivial in the battle for human rights and dignity, detention is not cost-effective. Detention averages $94/night, while other alternatives to detention cost a mere $13.

Video Documents Impact of Raids on Families and Children

This video tells the story of the Carreno family, which has suffered at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. I.C.E. Took My Father from New America Media on Vimeo.

The raids must end.

Keith Olbermann Criticizes U.S. Detention Practices

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Amnesty International Releases "Jailed Without Justice" Report Documenting Conditions of U.S. Immigration Detention

Amnesty International U.S.A. released a chilling report on conditions of immigrant detention in the U.S. today. Read the full report here.

Remember when reading the report and taking a look at key findings that the Massachusetts prison system relies on this injustice to support its budget.

You can also visit this page to view a slideshow of photos and captions that chronicle detention.

The report included the following information (blockquote from here):

• In the last decade the number of immigrants in detention has tripled from 10,000 in 1996 to over 30,000 in 2008, and this number is likely to increase even further in 2009.
• The US detains asylum seekers, survivors of torture and human trafficking, lawful permanent residents and the parents of U.S. citizen children.
• While the average cost of detaining an immigrant is $95 per person/per day, alternatives to detention are significantly cheaper, with some programs costing as little as $12 per day. Despite the proven effectiveness of these less expensive and less restrictive alternatives, the government is choosing to detain instead.
• Immigrants can be detained for months or years without any form of meaningful individualized review of whether their detention is necessary.
• The vast majority of people in immigration detention - 84 percent - are unable to obtain the legal assistance necessary to present viable claims in an adversarial and complex court process.
• The US contracts with approximately 350 state and county criminal jails to house approximately 67% of all immigrants in detention.
• Detention facilities are required to comply with ICE detention standards, however, these standards are not legally binding, and oversight and accountability for abuse or neglect in detention is almost nonexistent, leading to practices in violation of international standards. Immigrants are often put in excessive restraints, including handcuffs, belly chains and leg restraints, and are detained alongside individuals incarcerated for criminal offenses.
• Individuals in detention find it very difficult to get timely - and at times any - treatment for their medical needs. 74 people have died while in immigration detention over the past five years.

The report also includes the following recommendations:

1. The US Congress should pass legislation creating a presumption against the detention of immigrants and asylum seekers and ensuring that it be used as a measure of last resort;
   
2. The US government should ensure that alternative non-custodial measures, such as reporting requirements or an affordable bond, are always explicitly considered before resorting to detention. Reporting requirements should not be unduly onerous, invasive or difficult to comply with, especially for families with children and those of limited financial means. Conditions of release should be subject to judicial review.
   
3. The US Congress should pass legislation to ensure that all immigrants and asylum seekers have access to individualized hearings on the lawfulness, necessity, and appropriateness of detention.
   
4. The US government should ensure the adoption of enforceable human rights detention standards in all detention facilities that house immigration detainees, either through legislation or through the adoption of enforceable policies and procedures by the Department of Homeland Security. There should be effective independent oversight to ensure compliance with detention standards and accountability for any violations.

Kudos to our friends at AI for continuing the expose the national embarrassment that is immigrant detention.

Click on links for media coverage in The Boston Globe and a more detailed account in the San Francisco Chronicle.

In other news, AI is holding its annual general meeting this weekend in Boston (March 27-29). Check out the details here.

Another Day, Another Report Critical of ICE

This time the report, by Human Rights Watch and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, criticizes Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their failures to provide adequate health care to detainees.

AP Analysis of ICE Database Reveals Expansion of Costly Enforcement-only Strategies that Infringe on the Rights of Immigrants in Detention

An AP report release yesterday shed more light on what immigrant advocates have known for years: The enforcement-only strategies of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are ineffective, inefficient and have little regard for the rights of immigrant detainees.