ICE Ripped for Poor Medical Treatment

An alien held in ICE detention had cancer. But he got proper treatment and was never properly diagnosed and died. Federal Judge Dean Pregerson has written a scathing decision critical of the agency.

Scott Michels reports for ABC News:

For nearly 11 months, Francisco Castaneda asked officials at the immigration detention center where he was being held to treat a lesion he worried might be cancerous.

Though several doctors repeatedly said Castaneda urgently needed a biopsy, government officials allegedly refused to authorize one, calling it an “elective” procedure, according to court records treatment that a federal judge in Los Angeles has said appears to be “beyond cruel and unusual.”

Castaneda died last month, after penile cancer spread to his lymph nodes. While in immigration custody, instead of a biopsy, he was allegedly treated with ibuprofen, antihistamines and extra boxer shorts when his lesion began to bleed on his clothes, according to government records cited in a recent court decision that allowed Castaneda’s family to sue the government.

“Everyone knows that cancer is often deadly. Everyone knows that early diagnosis and treatment often saves lives,” Judge Dean Pregerson wrote. “Defendants’ own records bespeak of conduct that transcends negligence by miles. It bespeaks of conduct that, if true, should be taught to every law student as conduct for which the moniker ‘cruel’ is inadequate.” Click here for the full story.

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