Stop Torturing Detained Women With Reportedly Unnecessary Medical Procedures

Target: Tae D. Johnson, Acting Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Goal: Stop allowing doctors working under ICE to perform seemingly unnecessary and painful procedures on migrant detainee women.

The ICE Health Service Corps webpage opens with: “We provide compassionate medical attention to the men and women in ICE’s care.” Recent reports, however, have shown the government agency to be far from true to that commitment to thousands of human lives under its supervision. Dr. Mahendra Amin was contracted and trusted by ICE to act professionally during exams of migrant detainees when he reportedly excessively probed one woman before injecting her with a contraceptive without consent.

This was not the first time Dr. Amin seemingly acted inappropriately with patients provided by ICE detention centers. Other female detainees eventually reported a number of invasive procedures not relevant to their medical history and needs. Only after a whistleblower brought these alleged offenses to the public’s attention did the doctor receive any reprimand from ICE. Nonetheless, the agency seemingly did not fulfill their due diligence to provide fair and effective medical care for detainees. Malpractice lawsuits were a major part of Amin’s past, information available to the government but never investigated before enlisting his services.

Migrant detainees are humans, despite being under the supervision of the US government, and still entitled to its first-world level healthcare. Seemingly allowing them to be poked and prodded by apparently illegitimate doctors is an egregious violation of human rights and needs immediate policy to remedy wrongs of the past and prevent them from happening again.

Sign the petition below to urge ICE Acting Director Johnson to take action on the alleged wrongdoings of his agency and stop the apparent torture of migrant detainees.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Acting Director Johnson,

As you may know, there is a unsettling situation involving healthcare for migrant detainee women under ICE’s supervision. A whistleblower has alerted the public about allegations of excessive force during examinations and unnecessary procedures performed during these sessions, for example, injecting patients with unauthorized contraception. Allowing medical professionals, such as Dr. Mahendra Amin who is named in recent lawsuits, to operate seemingly inappropriately under the supervision of ICE leaves reasonable doubt about your efforts to uphold your medical department’s motto of providing “compassionate medical attention.”

When individuals are detained by ICE, it is expected that the organization will treat all detainees with respect and dignity as fellow human beings. The United States set a high bar on human rights, and treatment of some women under ICE’s supervision seemingly does not reflect well on the administration or how the US handles detainees. Dr. Amin had been involved in malpractice lawsuits predating his service to your detainees, something that should have been flagged before he was enlisted. Consequently, ICE should seriously address this apparent occurrence of malpractice as well as develop and release a transparent approach to vetting fair and compassionate healthcare workers in the future.

These steps are necessary towards gaining trust of the public, and more importantly, migrant detainees. We urge you towards a clear effort to stop the alleged torture of detained women and to prevent unnecessary medical procedures and other malpractice under your jurisdiction.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection