Not just content on detaining foreign nationals indefinitely while their legal status is getting cleared up, the USCIS is getting increasingly criticized for causing the deaths of several foreign nationals in their custody due to denying chronically ill detainees medical treatment.
The New York Times tells a story of Hiu Liu Ng, who died earlier this month due to an untreated cancer. The officials in charge of his care were claiming he was faking his symptoms for months and did not take him to see a doctor despite many pleas by Mr. Ng. When he died, he had a fractured spine, could not walk or eat and the cancer had spread to his liver, bones and lungs. ICE (the “police” force of USCIS) officials meanwhile deemed him fit to be driven several hours from Rhode Island to Connecticut in shackles. He died a week later. I can’t even begin to think how painful the drive must have been for Mr. Ng.
It shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone. After all illegal immigrants, or people suspected of being illegals, are considered to be worse than common criminals and without any real human rights. This is exactly how they get treated by USCIS and ICE, and a large portion of Americans think that’s just fine and dandy.
I know it’s far too much to hope USCIS and ICE to treat their detainees as human beings, but maybe there’s some hope for change if attitude towards suspected illegal immigrants changes from guilty until proven innocent to innocent until proven guilty. I’m not holding my breath.
-TPP
Please do not give up on all of us. It is my misfortune to live within 3 miles of the Wyatt Detention Center, and Mr Ng’s horrific treatment by people who claim to be doing the best thing for America is a constant haunt to my existance. My voice has been and will continue to be heard because I don’t plan on shutting up. I have protested twice outside the razor wire and will again. I ask you to do your part and don’t let this become an old story of what happened once….keep reminding people that they are human, that the people in those jails are not terrorists, or a lower life form. They came here hoping to make a better life, most doing jobs that we elitist Americans consider beneath our dignity to do, for wages that are a joke. Inspite of Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri blaming all the states woes and financial problems on the illegal immigrants stealing from welfare, helping to foster an attitude of hatred, the undocumented have mostly been arrested at work.
We need people like you to keep Mr Ng’s story alive so that people can become outraged by the Nazi attitude to our fellow human beings…without that outrage, nothing will change.
Thank You
Wendy