According to the Associated Press: “New York-based Human Rights Watch surveyed detention center officials and inmates after Arellano’s death and found 14 cases in which it said HIV-infected immigrants were not given proper care while in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
These particular cases will result in multi-million dollar Negligence lawsuits against the government and international attention from the Press which will lead to improvements in medical care offered to detainees.
However, equally troublesome is the fact that, according to the article “[e]xperts on AIDS and immigration said the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration is forcing people to avoid government clinics to receive care.” Without proper care it is likely that HIV positive immigrants will not be diagnosed and will unknowingly spread the virus to others.
There are so many layers to the immigration issue and consequences stemming from how it is handled. Finding ways to improve our system will not be easy but we need to encourage our elected officials to address it on a macro level. The status quo is not working for anyone.
