Thread: ICE: Deaths Highlight Need for Immigration Detention Reform

ICE: Deaths highlight need for immigration detention reform

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
By CINDY CARCAMO
The Orange County Register

Ten more detainees died than originally identified, immigration enforcement officials say.

On the same day Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced the deaths of 10 additional individuals while in custody, the agency's newly appointed head emphasized the need for an overhaul of its detention system.

"My foot is on the pad," ICE head John T. Morton told a room full of journalists Monday about detention reform. "I'm focused on this personally."

Later that day, immigration enforcement officials announced that a closer review of their records of detainee deaths revealed 10 more individuals who had died from October 2003 to 2007. That brings the total number of deaths to 104 from 2003 to the present, ICE officials said. The majority of deaths were from natural causes, they said.

The discovery prompted Morton to call for an agencywide review of all the agency's documents and databases on detainee deaths.

The American Civil Liberties Union triggered the initial review after filing a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the death of a detainee not previously found on the agency's list.

The ACLU has been critical of ICE's detention system and has taken legal action against the agency for claims of inhumane treatment. In April the group announced it had filed a lawsuit with five plaintiffs, including Abelardo Chavez Flores of Santa Ana.

Flores, 52, claimed he was treated egregiously -- unable to brush his teeth or change his clothes for weeks and forced to sleep on a concrete floor -- at the detention facility in downtown Los Angeles.

ICE officials wouldn't comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy, they said in a written statement.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the reevaluation of the detention system earlier this year. On Monday, Morton shared more specifics.

While the agency has facilities in Lancaster and Los Angeles, it relies heavily on city and county jails for detention, he said.

"And there really is very little space we can find that is designed for our needs," Morton said. ""We detain a variety of people – serious criminals and some of them are not."

He stressed that criminals who are in the country illegally will continue to be housed in jail-like settings, while detention facilities for those who are in the country illegally without criminal convictions will be different.

Morton said the agency may still partner up with local jails for beds. But the detention center will be designed to reflect the population it is holding, he said. A good portion of those in the detention population are not the same as the general criminal population.

The overhaul won't happen any time soon, however.

"This won't happen overnight," he added. "It will take several years."

Contact the writer: 949-553-2906 or ccarcamo@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dete ... -announced

Flores, 52, claimed he was treated egregiously -- unable to brush his teeth or change his clothes for weeks and forced to sleep on a concrete floor -- at the detention facility in downtown Los Angeles.



Really? Quite frankly, I'd like to know if Mr. Flores suffers from any, say, mental health issues?

Just wondering. It isn't uncommon to find, in a detention setting, any number of people suffering from mental health issues who do not take care of their personal hygiene, change their clothing, will sleep on the floors, and engage in other such behaviors. And, from what I understand, they cannot be forced to change, shower, brush teeth or anything else.

Then again, he could just be a liar who is looking for an out of his deportation and a big fat settlement on top of it.

Which is it?