As news of mass hysterectomies of women imprisoned by ICE broke yesterday, our team was saddened but not surprised. Horrific medical neglect & abuse at the hands of ICE & CBP is something we have documented among our clients for years.
One client was detained in front of her 2 young daughters as she left home one morning. Once imprisoned hundreds of miles away from her family, she learned she was pregnant. Twice she was sent to off-site hospitals for complications with no notice to her family or lawyer.
This young mom became deathly sick during ICE detention due to an inability to exercise, bathe and b/c of rotten food she was served. As her atty said “she looked sick, depressed, unable to focus. She smelled awful. It was such a dehumanizing way to bring a baby into this world.”
A 55 y/o client imprisoned at Adelanto required regular injections in order to manage severe arthritis. Despite repeated requests to give him the necessary injections, ICE refused. Within months he lost the ability to walk & is now confined to a wheelchair. He is still detained.
We worked w/ the family of a young man who had a medical emergency while imprisoned. When family got to the hospital, he was already on life support and ICE had him handcuffed to the bed. When doctors said he was brain dead, ICE gave family his release papers and uncuffed him.
A client had emergency urinary tract surgery while detained. Hospital sent him back to Adelanto where guards left him in bloody clothes and refused to clean his urostomy bag for 24+ hours. He eventually had to change his bloody pants with the assistance of other detainees.
Another client became so distraught during 3+ years in ICE custody, he was put on blood pressure medication at only 18 y/o. One day while administering his medication, a guard got upset w/ him & threw away his pills. He had no meds for 3 wks while they ordered the replacement.
In June 2018, numerous ImmDef clients detained at the Adelanto ICE prison reported being shot with rubber bullets and pepper spray after a group of people attempted to protest deteriorating conditions in the facility including lack of access to showers, adequate water and phones.
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Asylum seekers in MPP only have from 10 to 12 to potentially meet w/ lawyers on their day in court. That is if they can find a lawyer willing to represent them while being forced to remain in Tijuana, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. #DueProcess#AccessToCounsel
On the first day of MPP court in San Diego since the Biden administration decided to resume the deadly program, there are two judges hearing 7 cases. In the days and weeks ahead these numbers will sadly increase as more and more human beings are placed into MPP.
Today we’re proud to announce the official launch of the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign. We’re working with hundreds of advocates and organizations to say it loud and clear: we’re ready for a just asylum system that puts compassion and dignity first.
➡️welcomewithdignity.org
The #WelcomewithDignity campaign is committed to transforming the way the U.S. receives and protects people who survived violence and left behind their homes. Together, w/our border orgs, we can build a more just and truly humane asylum system. Join us: bit.ly/WelcomeWithDig…
This is Bryan. After 3 yrs of separation from his mom due to Trump’s zero tolerance policy, he will finally reunite w/her this week. Despite such a traumatic experience, Bryan is fighting back by joining #TeamImmDef to help children like him know their rights.
Thank you to @jacobsoboroff for joining us in celebrating this bittersweet moment. ImmDef met Bryan while he was in an ORR shelter. Since then he was reunited with siblings. This week his family becomes whole again.
“I didn’t have a chance to say anything. We were shocked, crying and didn’t expect to be separated from each other. That was the last time I saw my mom in person.” - ImmDef client Bryan, becomes one of the first children to reunite w/mother under Biden’s Task Force this week.
Many of the children entering these EIS were forced to flee their home countries due to severe violence, persecution, natural disaster, & some may have been separated from parents or family members due to the Biden Admin's continued implementation of the unjust Title 42 policy. 2
While the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 requires that children be transferred from CBP custody into ORR facilities within 72 hours, ImmDef staff recently witnessed a child still in CBP custody after 26 days & allowed only 2 showers in that time. 3
"It’s never left my mind. It was a horribly traumatic because I never thought I’d see my mom like that. They tricked us.” ImmDef client Julieta was separated from her mother while in CBP custody. Three years later, they still remain separated. @nlanard 🧵 motherjones.com/politics/2021/…
After one of Magdalena's daughters was sexually assaulted, she fled with her two girls to seek asylum in the U.S. But while in CBP custody, Magdalena was shackled and taken away from them, ripped apart by the Trump administration in front of her 9 yo and 16 yo daughters. 2/5
ImmDef's ED @L_Toczylowski, "This case perfectly exemplifies all of the trauma and the pain and the years of recovery that Zero Tolerance and family separation is going to cause...It’s a microcosm of what happened to hundreds and thousands of people.” 3/5 motherjones.com/politics/2021/…
Biden’s #ProtectionFailure is endangering the lives of refugees and causing unspeakable human suffering. It’s time for the Biden administration to #WelcomeWithDignity.
@POTUS promised to build back our asylum system better than before. But after months in office, his admin is continuing to use a Trump-era public health order to block & expel refugees to danger.
Refugees expelled to danger by the Biden admin under the Trump-era Title 42 policy face grave danger. It’s time to put an end to the Biden admin’s #ProtectionFailure, and #WelcomeWithDignity.