Carson: ICE Facility Medical Care Delays May Have Been Fatal
MIAMI COUNTY, Ind. — Indiana Democratic Congressman Andre Carson said Thursday ICE detainees told him that quicker access to medical care might have prevented a death while in custody.
Carson went to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center at the Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana to investigate the treatment of detainees following two recent deaths. After speaking with two detainees from Haiti and the country of Georgia, Carson said they told him the facility doesn’t have an intercom system, which leaves detainees unable to call for help during emergencies.
Lorth Sim from Cambodia and Tuan Van Bui from Vietnam have died while in ICE custody at the facility since January 1. Lorth died in February from a heart condition, according to immigration officials, while Tuan died on April 1.
According to Carson, one detainee reported waiting two weeks for medical care while seriously ill, only to receive Tylenol. Carson also described poor living conditions, saying that meals are served at “inconvenient times,” such as breakfast at 3 a.m., and that the detainees are forced to wash their clothes in sinks.
Carson was joined by dozens of protestors out of the prison. Rev. Worth Hartman is a minister with the Religious Society of Friends, and he said detainees have reported similar issues to workers.
“It’s just not the way human beings should be treated, whatever their status or situation,” he said.
