Shopping cart
Your cart empty!
Toddler held by ICE 'nearly died' in detention and was denied medication, lawsuit claims
A toddler detained by US immigration authorities ended up in hospital with a life-threatening illness, but was returned to custody and denied medication, a lawsuit claims.
The child, identified simply as Amalia in the legal challenge, was detained along with her parents on 11 December, amid an ongoing deportation drive by Donald Trump's administration. Held at a facility in Dilley, Texas, she reportedly developed a fever of 40C (104F) on New Year's Day, started vomiting, suffered diarrhoea, and struggled to breathe.
Her parents took her to the facility's medical clinic eight or nine times, but each time received only basic fever medication, the lawsuit alleges. By mid-January, she was barely getting enough oxygen, and her blood oxygen levels had plunged to life-threatening lows, the case claims.
Only then was she taken to hospital, where she and her mother were constantly supervised by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the suit says. It's alleged that her father had to stay behind, unable to communicate with his wife and daughter.
She was diagnosed with COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, viral bronchitis, and pneumonia, and placed on supplemental oxygen, according to the lawsuit. After 10 days at Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio, she was reportedly returned to the Dilley Facility in the midst of a measles outbreak.
Having lost 10% of her weight, Amalia was given a nebulizer, respiratory medication, and nutritional drinks, but all were seized at the detention centre, the case claims. So the family was forced to queue in the cold for medication, waiting for hours every day in what's been called a "pill line.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
Related to this topic:
AI and Marketing: Unlocking Customer Insights
Feb 22, 2024
