Feds settle suit over medical care at immigration jail

By Greg Moran
Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 6:46 p.m.

SAN DIEGO — A federal lawsuit filed against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency over medical care at an immigration jail in Otay Mesa was settled Thursday with an agreement that the government will provide a broader range of treatment and increase mental health care.

The settlement covers the immigration jail run by the Corrections Corporation of America under a contract with ICE. The lawsuit, filed in 2007 by the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, alleged that detainees had to endure lengthy waits for medical treatment, did not get the medications needed for chronic illnesses and had poor mental health care.

The settlement applies only to the ICE detention facility at the jail, and as part of the deal the agency did not admit that any of the allegations were true.

The settlement requires that ICE meet or exceed specified standards of care detailed by the national Commission on Correctional Health Care. It also requires the agency to hire one full-time psychiatrist and four psychiatric nurses.

In a statement the ACLU said the agreement is important because it requires ICE to eliminate from its written policies statements saying detainees will receive only emergency care, and instead mandate detainees will receive care whenever it is necessary to address a serious medical need.

In the past, the ACLU said some detainees did not get biopsies or surgeries for medical problems that were deemed to be nonemergencies.

In a statement, ICE said it was proud of the progress it had made to reform the immigration detention system, which has been criticized by civil-rights and immigrant-rights activists for how detainees are treated in some facilities. The agency said it is committed to providing high quality medical care for detainees.

In 2004, when ICE had about 24,000 people nationwide under detention, there were 28 detainee deaths. In 2010, with an average daily population of 30,000 nationally, there have been eight deaths.

greg.moran@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1236 • Twitter @gregmoran

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