Faith leaders speak up for Arizona ICE detainees in poor health
Clergy members were turned away at the door of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they tried to deliver a letter that called for the humanitarian parole of people currently in ICE detention.
The religious leaders called for the humanitarian parole of detainees who they said had medical conditions such as partial hearing loss, diabetes, high blood pressure and lymphocytic leukemia.
Religious leaders and the detainees' relatives said their health had progressively gotten worse since they were detained, leaving some of them disabled by their medical conditions.
The includes Arbella “Yari” Rodríguez Márquez, who was first detained by immigration officials and placed into ICE custody at the Eloy Detention Center in southern Arizona a little over a year ago. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Rodríguez Márquez's partner, Sonia Almaraz, have repeatedly said Rodríguez Márquez's health has rapidly deteriorated with the return of her lymphocytic leukemia. She had been in remission before her detainment.
Rodríguez Márquez' health remains disputed by ICE. Officials have stood by their statement that the "claims that lymphocytic leukemia has returned are false."
Five of the detainees were being held in Eloy. Lazaro Campos Izquierdo, a Cuban with Lou Gehrig's disease, was another detainee mentioned. He was released from ICE custody on April 20 after four months, organizers said.
ICE was not immediately available for comment on the health of the other detainees mentioned during the April 23 news conference.