It has long been known that having a disability greatly increases a person’s risk of being subjected to the use of force and even dying at the hands of police. So it’s no surprise to see that people with disabilities are being mistreated while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Last August, more than thirty members of Congress sent a letter to Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has jurisdiction over ICE.
“It is unacceptable that detainees with disabilities are routinely denied access to medications, assistive devices, and means of communication until emergencies arise,” the lawmakers wrote. “This pattern of neglect demands immediate federal oversight, accountability, and enforcement of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and DHS’s own regulations.”
The letter went on to tell the story of Javier Diaz Santana, a deaf man who was detained in an ICE facility last year. Santana, it said, was “denied access to his attorney and family, and given paperwork in Spanish, a language he cannot read. The facility lacked text telephone devices (TTY), which are critical for individuals with hearing or speech disabilities.” It also noted that Santana had no criminal record and was legally protected from being deported because he was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.
And, last July, Disability Rights California (DRC) put out a report titled “They Treat Us Like Dogs in Cages.” That’s what some of the people who were being detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County, California, shouted out in Spanish when DRC employees went to the facility to investigate reports that detainees with disabilities were being mistreated.
The report said disabled people who were being held at Adelanto were being subjected to “abuse and neglect.” It also said “the conditions that DRC observed and the reports it received are alarming.”
“DRC met with many individuals during the monitoring visit who were not receiving proper medication to manage their medical conditions,” the report said. “One person reported that he needed to take diabetes medication twice per day but had only received it twice over the ten days he had been detained—placing him at life-threatening risk of diabetic shock. Other individuals reported insufficient access to medication to manage severe asthma and urinary conditions or not having medications transferred from previous facilities to ensure continued treatment.”
The report also said, “One individual wearing visibly soiled clothing told DRC that Adelanto had not provided him with clean clothes for twenty days. He reported that after showering, he puts on the same soiled clothing out of necessity.”
According to DRC’s report, nearly 1,400 people were being held at Adelanto, “a dramatic increase from the approximately 300 individuals it held there just weeks before. Due to the surging numbers of people at Adelanto, conditions appear to have quickly deteriorated.”
As of last July, according to the DRC's report, concluded, “DRC has grave concerns that the recent surge of individuals being held in Adelanto will only place individuals with disabilities at even greater risk of abuse, neglect, and serious harm. The conditions at Adelanto make it clear that the current system of immigration detention is dangerous and inadequate for all people, especially for those with disabilities.”
Some of the outrage over what has been going on lately should be focused on ICE’s callous disregard for the health and safety of people with disabilities who end up in its custody.