Akaka Critical of Shortfalls in Health Care for Immigrants in Detention

Statement

Akaka Critical of Shortfalls in Health Care for Immigrants in Detention

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia issued the following statement on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General report entitled: ICE Policies Related to Detainee Deaths and the Oversight of Immigration Detention Facilities (OIG-08-52), which was released publicly on July 1, 2008:

Senator Akaka said, "I was disturbed by the DHS Inspector General's report, which again highlights systemic shortfalls in the health care provided to immigrants in detention.

The report details the stories of two women who died weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained them.

One woman was suffering from a brain infection that ultimately killed her, but she was given only over-the-counter headache medicine including Tylenol and aspirin for five weeks, despite her complaints that it was ineffective. After she sustained a head injury falling from a bunk bed, it took more than four hours before a nurse ordered her transported to a nearby hospital, where her condition was diagnosed promptly. She died ten days later.

The other woman was given only antacids for weeks to treat her abdominal pain. She died of pancreatic cancer soon after being taken to the hospital.

Regardless of whether appropriate care would have saved these women's lives, allowing immigrants to suffer until they are near death with only over-the-counter medication is inhumane and unacceptable," Senator Akaka stated.

According to the report, nationally ICE detention facilities using Public Health Service clinicians had a 36% vacancy rate in October 2007. The facilities where both of these women had difficulty providing timely health services.

Senator Akaka continued, "ICE must remove bureaucratic obstacles to receiving specialized medical care. Staff shortages in the Department of Immigrant Health Services require urgent attention as well. I urged Congress to pass the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008 (S. 3005), which would require more timely, effective health care for immigration detainees and ensure that treatment decisions are based on clinical need."

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