Senator Ted Kennedy On Immigration Detention Health Care

(As Prepared for Delivery)

May 12, 2008 -- Mr. President, I would like to speak for a few moments on another issue, and I ask that my remarks be printed at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. President, an urgent aspect of the immigration issue is the appalling lack of medical care available for immigrants held in custody of the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Senator Menendez and I have introduced legislation today, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to deliver timely and effective medical and mental health care to individuals in its custody.

In the past week, the Washington Post, 60 Minutes, and the New York Times have documented the shameful state of medical care in immigration detention facilities. Each day, approximately 33,000 immigrants, including those fleeing persecution and torture, are detained in facilities run by ICE or one of its private or local government contractors. It appears that ICE and the Division of Immigration Health Services, the agency charged with delivering medical care to immigrant detainees, have engaged in a pattern of gross negligence and intentional cover-ups that shock the conscience.

The results have been predictable—in the past five years, at least 83 detainees have died in custody or shortly after release. Thousands of others have been denied treatment, access to medications, and even the most basic compassion and decency in the custody of our government.

These are people who come to the United States from all corners of the world. Some come to join family and others come in search of jobs. Still others come as refugees. Some may be eligible to remain in the United States, and others may be subject to deportation. But at a minimum, they all deserve basic medical care in detention pending the outcome of their immigration proceedings, which can often take years. None deserve a death sentence.

Congress has an obligation to act and the bill’s introduction is an important first step. I urge the Senate to join Senator Menendez and me in expeditiously moving this legislation. The range of other immigration challenges we face are complex, but this is different. It goes to our basic responsibility to protect human life. It’s a measure of our worth as a country and as a people, and we need to act.

Source: Senator Ted Kennedy

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