Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Alligator Alcatraz Held Detainees In Cages Depicted As 'Calming Areas,' Watchdog Reports
The Washington Post: Alligator Alcatraz Detainees Were Put In Small Cages, DHS Watchdog Report Finds
Immigrants at the Florida detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz were kept in “small metal enclosures” for up to nearly two hours in what the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog is calling a highly unusual and inhumane detention practice. The DHS Office of Inspector General report says the enclosures were 4 feet 3 inches wide and 7 feet 9 inches tall. The facility’s staff referred to them as “calming areas.” Investigators said they learned of at least one instance where the cage may have been used to discipline a detainee. Investigators described the use of cages as “a practice unlike any” they had observed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. (Foster-Frau, 9/14)
The Marshall Project: Trans Immigrants Cite Abuse, Sexual Assault In ICE Detention
As a transgender woman, Channel Ferro Badell has spent her life fleeing discrimination, trafficking and abuse — first in Uruguay, where she was born, then in Argentina, where she is a citizen. But few experiences compare to what she suffered during her time in ICE custody, she told me. “In six months I was taken to six facilities,” she wrote in Spanish in messages to The Marshall Project. “In every one, the situation is the same: Violence is tolerated within ICE.” (Schwartzapfel, 9/12)
Also —
Stat: Judge Blocks DHS Visa Cap For International Researchers
A federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from upending a long-standing policy that allows foreign students and scholars to stay in the U.S. for the duration of their training, a decision that suggests that plaintiffs opposed to the policy change are likely to ultimately succeed. (Wosen and Oza, 9/14)
AP: Democratic-Led States Sue Over Trump's 'Public Charge' Rule For Immigrants
Democratic-led states and cities filed lawsuits Monday challenging a federal rule set to begin Friday that they say gives President Donald Trump’s administration broad discretion to deny green cards to immigrants who rely on public assistance for food, healthcare, housing and other basic needs. (Marcelo, 9/14)
NPR: For Thousands Of Haitians In The U.S., End Of Protected Status Brings Fear, Grief And Defiance
Herlain, a registered nurse who was born in Haiti, barely leaves her house these days. The few times she has, she was terrified. She instructed her family members about how to record on their phones in case she gets detained by federal immigration authorities. "You would think I was on the run," she told NPR. "Who am I on the run from? This is crazy!" Even at home she fears strangers and refused to open the door to a salesman who requested water on a humid Florida day during a recent heatwave. "That's not me. I'm a nurse, I help people," she recounted through tears. Herlain, along with nearly 350,000 other Haitian migrants, lost her temporary protected status, or TPS, in July. She asked NPR to only use her first name because of her immigration status. (Martínez-Beltrán, 9/15)
