I just read on Angry Asian Man about the death of Hiu Lui Ng, who recently died under custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Please read the entire story in the New York Times, and prepare to be enraged.
The man was dying of cancer in his lungs, liver and bones -- and had a spinal fracture. At the age of 34. It sounds like he was denied real care, over and over and over again because it was only right before he died that the cancer was detected.
He was continually harrassed by ICE staff the whole time he was suffering from all of this.Tortured. And they didn't believe him when he said he was in pain.
On top of that, it sounds like he was retaliated against by ICE. According to the article:
"In federal court affidavits, Mr. Ng's lawyers contend that when he complained of severe pain that did not respond to analgesics, and grew too weak to walk or even stand to call his family from a detention pay phone, officials accused him of faking his condition. They denied him a wheelchair and refused pleas for an independent medical evaluation.
Instead, the affidavits say, guards at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, R.I., dragged him from his bed on July 30, carried him in shackles to a car, bruising his arms and legs, and drove him two hours to a federal lockup in Hartford, where an immigration officer pressured him to withdraw all pending appeals of his case and accept deportation."What kind of system allows for this? Why are we criminalizing immigrants?
In the larger scheme of things, is what he did so bad and harmful that he should be criminalized? And treated like this?
The guy immigrated from Hong Kong, his wife is an American citizen, he has two U.S.-born kids (one and three years of age), he worked in the Empire State building as an engineer, he lived in Queens. He overstayed his visa and was thrown in jail when he tried to get his green card.
It also sounds like there was miscommunication and bad legal advice -- a court summons letter was sent to a wrong address; at the hearing, the judge ordered his deportation. Probably without Ng's knowledge. Then later just as he was about to get his green card -- a process that took five years -- he was met by ICE agents. How fucked up is that.
This isn't the first death under ICE's watch. Read more here. They might as well call the War on Terror the War on Immigrants.Posted by momo at August 13, 2008 11:45 PM
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Goddamn haoles!
I read this NY Times yesterday morning and I couldn't shake the images the detailed article evoked. I feel like this story reveals the xenophobia that is swallowing our country whole. The war on "terror" is so ingrained in our society that it transfers into fear of the foreign. I was also disturbed with the fact that our system of deportation prisons are both public and privately owned. We already know how our correctional system is flawed due to it being somewhat profit driven. I feel like Hiu Lui Ng was one of those immigrants that successfully carried out the American Dream- you know, that idea we like to show off to others. With a family and job, Hiu was taking the measures to stay in this country legally but our system failed once again.
I have been shocked all morning by this story, by the sheer powerlessness that he experienced. I am reading "Here comes Everybody" right now, a book about how the internet allows us to collaborate and work together. I wonder if there is some way that we can use technology and cooperation to try and stop this from happening and to highlight it when it does?
I found the petition for habeas corpus which gives some more details. Here is the link: http://www.arasmus.com/microblog/2008/8/15/the-death-of-mr-ng.html
Arasmus,
Thanks for posting this. I was wondering anyone knows of any organized effort to force ICE to investigate this matter. You know, from the legal or API community or organizations?
So how did his spine get fractured, one wonders? And is that why they refused to let him get proper medical care?
I am totally freaked out by this story. Iraq under Hussein was also a fairly open and liberal secular society, as long as you didn't cross the wrong people. I've known plenty of really talented people who overstayed a visa -- Microsoft and HP would be utterly depleted of talent if everyone who ever worked illegally for them was thrown into jail. You can be a productive part of our country for decades, a parent of US citizens, and then become a non-entity, citizen of nowhere at the drop of a hat. And even if you are a citizen of nowhere, since when did the USA beat & torture you?