Three die while in federal immigration custody

By WASHINGTON POST
Published August 15, 2007

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WASHINGTON - Three detainees died within weeks of one another while in federal immigration custody, fueling accusations of medical maltreatment.

The dead were a pregnant Mexican woman who lost consciousness at a facility in El Paso, Texas, a male Mexican AIDS patient whose condition steadily deteriorated in a San Pedro, Calif., prison, and a Brazilian whose family implored authorities to give him medicine for his epileptic seizures in Rhode Island, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and published reports.

The two men were illegal immigrants being processed for deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

An ICE spokesman, Marc Raimondi, said his agency cannot be held responsible for the deaths of the pregnant woman and the Brazilian man. He declined to comment about the third case, involving the AIDS patient. That man was the first to die, on July 20.

At least 62 people have died in ICE custody since 2004, immigration officials said.