Lawsuit claims child detained by ICE ‘almost died’ in custody and was denied medication – US News
The lawsuit claims that a child detained by US immigration officials arrived at the hospital with a life-threatening illness but was returned to custody and denied medication.
The girl, identified as Amalia in the legal challenge, was detained along with her parents on December 11 amid an ongoing deportation campaign. Donald Trump’s administration.
Held at a facility in Dili, Texas, she reportedly developed a fever of 40°C (104°F), vomited, experienced diarrhoea, and had difficulty breathing on New Year’s Day.
The lawsuit alleges that his parents took him to the facility’s medical clinic eight or nine times
but received only basic fever medicine each time.
The case claims that by mid-January, she was barely getting enough oxygen, and the oxygen level in her blood had dropped to life-threatening levels.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continuously monitored her and her mother at the hospital, the suit claims.
It is alleged that her father had to stay behind, unable to communicate with his wife and daughter.
He was diagnosed with covidCOVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, viral bronchitis and pneumonia and placed on supplemental oxygen, according to the lawsuit.
Detainees wave signs during a demonstration at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Photo: AP
After 10 days at Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, she was returned to the Dilley facility, reportedly amid a measles outbreak.
The case claims that after losing 10% of her weight, Amalia was given a nebuliser, respiratory medication, and nutritional drinks, but they were all confiscated at the detention center.
The family was forced to wait in the cold for hours each day in a line known as the “pill line” to receive the medication, but doctors ultimately refused to prescribe it, according to the lawsuit.
The legal challenge was reported by Sky’s US partner, NBC News, which reported how medical experts had reviewed Amalia’s case and cautioned against returning her to custody.
South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Photo: Reuters
A doctor warned that the child faced a “high risk of medical harm and death.”
But the family was released only Friday after an emergency challenge was filed by Elora Mukherjee, a Columbia Law School professor who leads its Immigrant Rights Clinic.
Ms Mukherjee said ICE still has not handed over the child’s prescriptions and birth certificate.
She said, “Baby Amalia should never have been detained. She almost died in Dili.”
A recreational area at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, in 2019. Photo: AP
Amalia’s parents, Khalin Valero Marcano and Steven Arrieta Prieto, immigrated to the United States in 2024 after fleeing their native places. Venezuela.
Citing political persecution in his homeland, he applied for asylum for himself and his daughter, born in Mexico, during their journey north.
Read more:
‘My five-year-old son has nightmares after ICE detention.’
Trump administration wants to deport five-year-old boy detained by ICE
According to the lawsuit, he complied with all requirements and checked in regularly with immigration officials. He was detained during one of these check-ins.
Dili, where they were taken, is more than 500 miles from where they were living.
A protester was present at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, last week. Photo: Reuters
Ms. Mukherjee called for the release of hundreds of children and families detained there, warning that they lacked adequate drinking water, healthy food, education, or proper medical care.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
CoreCivic, the company contracted to run Dally referred questions about it to DHS when contacted by NBC.
However, the firm said in a statement that “the health and safety of those entrusted to our care” is its top priority.
