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| Another Immigrant Dies in ICE Custody | July 7, 2008 |
| Cheryl Little | |
| Family and Advocates Demand Investigation News Conference DATE: Tuesday, July 8, 2008 TIME: 2:00 PM PLACE: Jacques Dessalines Center 8325 NE 2nd Avenue WHO: Family, Lawyers, Community Leaders Miami, FL – Twenty-three year old Haitian Valery Joseph was pronounced dead on June 20, 2008 at the Glades County Detention Center. On July 8, Mr. Joseph should have celebrated his 24th birthday - instead, his family and community leaders will mark the occasion at a press conference where they will demand an investigation into his untimely death. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), more than 70 immigrants have died in their custody since 2004. “Lack of access to adequate medical care is among detainees’ chief complaint,” said Cheryl Little, Executive Director of Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. “DHS officials have not kept pace with the exploding ICE population, and there is little oversight or accountability. The ICE detention system is designed to fail detainees like Valery Joseph.” Jean Robert Lafortune, head of the Haitian Grassroots Coalition, adds, “We express a deep concern about the sudden death of Valery Joseph. It seems ICE detainee access to medical care is a systemic problem, and we are working with members of Congress to ensure a full investigation into Mr. Joseph’s death.” FIAC represents Mr. Joseph’s family and has requested his medical records. Recently, the lack of access to medical care by detainees has gained the attention of Congress. Two recent Congressional hearings have highlighted serious deficiencies in medical care and deaths in ICE custody. Little testified before Congress in October 2007 about ICE detainees’ lack of access to adequate medical care. (Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law Committee on the Judiciary: “Detention and Removal: Immigration Detainee Medical Care”). In June 2008, Congress introduced a bill that would require ICE to provide medical care that complies with national and international standards and that all deaths in detention be reported to Congress and the public (HB 5059, “The Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008”). The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General released a report on deaths in ICE custody just ten days after Mr. Joseph’s death. ### | |