Thread: Death of Haitian detainee fuels calls for probe

Death of Haitian detainee fuels calls for probe
The Associated Press
July 9, 2008
MIAMI - The death of a Haitian man being detained by U.S. immigration authorities deserves an independent investigation, family members and community leaders said Tuesday.

Valery Joseph, 23, died June 20 at the Glades County Jail in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

His sudden death is cause for "a deep concern" about access to medical care in immigration detention, said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center.

"He suffered from seizures," though the extent of his medical care in detention was not immediately clear, Little said. Joseph had not complained of any illness when he last called his mother in West Palm Beach a few days before he died, his sister Sandy Jules, 21, said.



"This is another attempt by groups such as the FIAC to tout unsubstantiated allegations over fact," Nicole Navas, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a written statement Tuesday.

"While a single death of an ICE detainee is a serious matter and a regrettable occurrence, it is important to review all the facts. There is no lack of adequate medical care for those held in detention. In fact, it's quite the opposite."

The federal agency spends nearly $100 million annually on medical services for its detainees, Navas said. The agency estimates that it houses an average of 29,800 undocumented immigrants nationwide each day.

According to an agency document provided by the immigrant-advocacy center, Glades County Jail staff delivering medication to Joseph found him unresponsive in his bunk. Joseph could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead. Preliminary autopsy results indicate Joseph died of natural causes brought on by a seizure, the document stated.

Joseph's death remains under investigation and autopsy results are pending, said Robert DeMann, chief deputy of corrections for the Glades County Sheriff's Office.

"We do know there's no indication of any foul play, no trauma," DeMann said.

The immigration and customs agency would not comment further.

Little and Haitian community leaders in Miami compared Joseph's death to that of the Rev. Joseph Danticat, who died in agency custody in 2004 after falling seriously ill at Miami-Dade County's Krome detention center. The 81-year-old's ordeal was chronicled by his niece, Haitian-born writer Edwidge Danticat, in her prize-winning memoir last year.

A federal review of Danticat's case found no fault with the agency, Little said.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... 8971.story

His sudden death is cause for "a deep concern" about access to medical care in immigration detention, said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center.

Hmm...I do not recall Cheryl Little expressing "deep concern" when illegal invaders murder, rape and molest American citizens! I will worry about illegals in dentention once Americans no longer have to face being victims of violent crime at the hands of illegal invaders in this country!