Many Florida families are currently navigating the legal system regarding issues related to travel visas, Stokes interviews or other issues. Some have family members who are currently being held in county jails. These jails are being used as immigration detention facilities. County jails in other states are functioning in similar manners, and many immigrants have claimed that guards have mistreated them, including one man who believes he was given the wrong medication on several occasions.
The man in question is a 32-year-old who fled his country of origin in fear for his life. He was afraid to return there, so he requested protection in the United States, which landed him in a county jail while his case was being processed. The man cannot speak English, and he says that none of the guards in the detention facility could speak his first language, which is Spanish. He believes that the severe language barrier made it difficult to receive the care he needed.
The man suffers from anxiety and was prescribed medication
Due to issues related to severe anxiety, the man was taking antidepressant drugs and other anti-anxiety medication. The man says that guards gave him medicine on two occasions that he believes was not the correct medication. However, because he was unable to verbally communicate with them, he could not obtain clarification on the exact medicine he was given.
Several immigrants at the same jail have filed a lawsuit
A lawsuit has been filed against the county jail, where numerous immigrant detainees have accused ICE and the county in question of misusing funds that are supposed to provide for the immigrants’ needs. The claimants have stated that revenue generated from ICE contracts was used to install an air conditioner costing more than $80,000 and also to provide salary increases for jail staff members. The claimants have also stated that this is an egregious misuse of funds, while conditions in the jail are unsanitary and deplorable. Immigrant advocates have stepped forward to say that this is not the first time county jails have misappropriated funds while immigrants live in inhumane conditions and ICE disregards the issues.
