A Congressional Investigation Finds Multiple Cases of Death Caused by Inadequate Medical Care

(AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

According to a congressional report released on September 22nd Immigrants in US custody faced widespread failures in medical care. One such case was of 47-year-old Huy Chi Tran. Mr. Tran had been a legal permanent resident since 1984.died in June 2018 of a sudden cardiac arrest after being detained for eight days and placed in solitary confinement at CoreCivic’s Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. A guard failed to monitor him and then falsified logs to hide this failure. According to the congressional report “The DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties report also identified other instances of inadequate medical care at Eloy. In one case, a man suffering from psychosis-related symptoms who was not treated by the facility psychiatrist “became so unstable that he lacerated his penis, requiring hospitalization and surgery.”30 In another case, a man suffering from psychotic-like symptoms was improperly prescribed an anti-depressant, rather than an anti-psychotic, likely worsening his symptoms.” The Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is continuing to investigate these complaints.