MIAMI — U.S. immigration authorities routinely delay, deny or botch medical care for immigrants in detention, say separate reports by advocacy groups released Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center said immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement routinely receive inadequate medical care in poorly equipped facilities.
They blame the problems on unskilled or indifferent staff, overcrowding, bureaucratic red tape, language barriers and limited services available to detainees. The groups contend that alternatives to detention, such as requirements to check in by phone or in person, are “more humane” and cost taxpayers as little as $12 a day, compared with $95 a day to keep someone in immigration custody.
ICE held more than 300,000 people in fiscal 2007, with a daily average of nearly 30,000.
The agency responded that its Division of Immigration Health Services gives detainees adequate care.
“ICE is committed to providing all detainees in our care with humane and safe detention environments and ensuring that adequate medical services are provided to all in our care . . . to the tune of nearly $100 million annually,” ICE spokeswoman Nicole Navas said.
