Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Detained Immigrants File Suit Decrying Shoddy Medical Care, Brutal Conditions, Lack Of Disability Accommodations
The Associated Press: Detained Immigrants Sue Over Conditions, Medical Care
Immigrants held in U.S. detention facilities filed a lawsuit Monday decrying what they called shoddy medical care and a failure by authorities to provide accommodations for disabilities. In the suit filed by disability and civil rights advocates in U.S. District Court, immigrants said they’re placed in isolation as punishment and denied recommended medical treatment and surgery. Some said they’ve been denied wheelchairs and a deaf detainee who communicates in American Sign Language said he has not been provided an interpreter. (Taxin, 8/19)
Politico: Trump Administration Sued Over Poor Medical Care In Immigration Centers
Detainees with medical and mental health conditions and those with disabilities face settings so brutal, including delays and denials of medical care, overuse of solitary confinement and lack of disability accommodations, they have led to permanent harm and 24 deaths in the last two years, according to a portion of the 200-page complaint shared with POLITICO. (Rayasam, 8/19)
CNN: Lawsuit Alleges Poor Medical And Mental Health Care In ICE Detention Facilities
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of 15 named detainees and others, claims that individuals held in ICE custody have been denied healthcare, refused accommodations for disabilities and subjected to "arbitrary and punitive isolation." For example, the complaint alleges that two detainees have been denied daily doses of insulin for diabetes and another has been denied treatment for a likely brain parasite. Another plaintiff, who suffers from schizophrenia and depression, spent approximately nine months in near-total isolation without adequate monitoring of her well-being, according to the lawsuit. (Sands, 8/19)
The Hill: Civil Rights Groups Sue ICE Over Medical Care In Detention Centers
One man claims he lost eyesight in his left eye after not receiving surgery recommended by a doctor. Another diabetic man alleges that he was given an overdose of insulin and never evaluated by a doctor afterward. Another plaintiff says he suffered a back injury and cannot walk without assistance, but has not been given a physical therapy appointment. That plaintiff claims staff has at points taken away his crutches and wheelchair. “This administration’s horrific mistreatment of immigrants is not limited to individuals at the border,” said Lisa Graybill, deputy legal director for the SPLC. (Rodrigo, 8/19)
Los Angeles Times: ICE Provides 'Deplorable' Healthcare To Detained Immigrants, Advocates Allege In Massive Lawsuit
Lawyers say that problems such as short staffing, unqualified medical care providers, and delays or denials of treatment, are not limited to a few facilities but are rampant and systemic. They say that immigrants with viable legal claims are forced to choose between continuing to suffer in detention or giving up on their cases. (Castillo, 8/19)
Meanwhile —
ProPublica: 'No Comment': Emails Show The VA Took No Action To Spare Veterans From A Harsh Trump Immigration Policy
Top officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs declined to step in to try to exempt veterans and their families from a new immigration rule that would make it far easier to deny green cards to low-income immigrants, according to documents obtained by ProPublica under a Freedom of Information Act request. The Department of Defense, on the other hand, worked throughout 2018 to minimize the new policy’s impact on military families. (Torbati, Arnsdorf and Lind, 8/19)
