The case to abolish ICE: substandard conditions of detention puts immigrants’ lives at risk
We’ve all seen the headlines. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers are plagued with detainee deaths, suicides, sexual abuse, and denial of medical care. Just in the past few months we have heard the heartbreaking stories of immigrants dying at the hands of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agencies who are profiting off the persecution and detainment of black and brown people. Stories such as Roxsana Hernandez’s, a trans woman fleeing gendered violence and persecution in Honduras, who died of medical negligence after being subjected to freezing temperatures in ‘ice box’ detention. Or Rubia Mabel Morales Alfaro, who miscarried while in ICE detention after being shackled and denied prompt medical care.
For many women, particularly women of color, accessing basic healthcare, including essential reproductive healthcare, is a struggle. For the thousands of women currently in detention, access to these basic healthcare services is downright impossible. The policies and practices used in immigrant detention regularly deny or restrict access for immigrant women to this care.
Reports find that in detention, families are exposed to a slew of abusive and deplorable conditions and treatment, and sub-par medical treatment, including mental health services; individuals are denied gynecological services and pregnant women do not receive adequate prenatal care. Additionally, children who need medical attention are often denied it.
The current family separation crisis has also seen dire effects on our immigrant families. Families who have suffered prolonged and indefinite separations are suffering psychological distress including depression, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. The recent death of Marco Antonio Muñoz is proof of the vast negative mental and physical effects of detention. Marco was a Honduran father seeking asylum in the U.S. who committed suicide in detention after being separated from his children and family. Immigrants seeking refuge in the U.S. are seen and treated as criminals, exacerbating the anxiety and trauma onto women and children who were forced to migrate because their lives were threatened in the places they called home. This cruel and senseless practice is costing immigrants their lives.
In addition to living in deplorable conditions and being separated from their families and healthcare providers, some women have been sexually assaulted by guards, pregnant women have been forced to give birth in shackles, trans people have been denied hormone replacement therapy, individuals with HIV haven’t received the necessary care, all the while others are denied crucial reproductive care.
Reproductive health services of immigrant women is profoundly affected by discriminatory immigration policies. In the past year we have seen several cases like Jane Doe’s, a young immigrant woman detained under U.S. custody, who was blocked at every turn by the Office of Refugee Resettlement from getting the abortion she was seeking. Although Jane eventually underwent the procedure, her case is not the first time the administration has abused their power to deny young women in federal detention facilities or federally funded shelters access to the full range of reproductive healthcare.
The Aderholt Amendment, which bans the use of ICE funds to pay for abortion care for detainees, also compromises the health of people who are detained and pregnant. Proposals to limit access to abortion for immigrants do nothing to address the substandard conditions of detention, but are instead cruel attacks on the ability of immigrants in our society to make decisions about their health and well-being. Every day immigrants like Jane are forced to forgo needed reproductive care because of anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant policies that interfere with their human right to healthcare and basic dignity.
In order for immigrant women and families to achieve social and reproductive justice, it is necessary for there to be a fair and comprehensive approach to immigration reform which addresses the healthcare needs of all immigrant women and families, regardless of status. We need an end to enforcement policies that persecute, target, and detain women, children and families in cages, and tear our families apart. Under ICE, immigrant communities will never be safe or healthy. Join us as we fight to abolish ICE and ensure that reproductive justice is a reality for all.
For more information on NLIRH, visit us at latinainstitute.org or on Facebookand Twitter @NLIRH.
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 28 million Latinas, their families and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications.
