An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee held during June at an Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) facility has been hospitalized in Tacoma, Washington, with tuberculosis. The 35 individuals held at Anchorage Correctional Complex (ACC) were informed by ICE upon their return to Tacoma on June 30th that they were exposed to tuberculosis while detained in Alaska.
Tuberculosis is a serious and highly contagious disease that mainly affects the lungs. Alaska has the highest rate of tuberculosis in the country.
The hospitalization was uncovered by the detainee’s attorney, Sean Quirk, whose client missed two scheduled video appointments from the Tacoma ICE detention facility. Quirk was only able to confirm that his client was ill with tuberculosis after calling Tacoma-area hospitals and eventually locating his client. However, an officer from the GEO Group, the private prison company that runs the Tacoma facility, denied him access to speak with his client. The client is still hospitalized and being treated for tuberculosis.
ACLU of Alaska attorneys were also informed by two ICE detainees during their detention at ACC that they had tested positive for latent tuberculosis and had undergone additional tuberculosis testing.
“Whether a detainee is in custody at a prison or at a hospital, it is unacceptable and unconstitutional to deny them access to legal counsel,” said Cindy Woods, Senior Immigration Law and Policy Fellow at the ACLU of Alaska.
Questions remain whether consistent medical screenings were conducted when detainees arrived at ACC on June 8; if correctional officers or other staff at ACC have been tested for the disease; and if proper reporting to the Alaska Department of Health has been completed. In Alaska, cases of tuberculosis are required to be reported to the State of Alaska Health Department within two days.
During the state legislative hearing on June 20th, ACLU of Alaska and volunteer attorneys testified that detainees had documented chronic medical issues and were being denied access to care while held at ACC. During the hearing, DOC Commissioner Jennifer Winkleman confirmed that pepper spray was deployed in areas where detainees were being held, causing ongoing respiratory distress for detainees.
This information comes on the heels of a class-action lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Alaska against DOC in May for failing to provide adequate health care for incarcerated Alaskans. It is unclear if other individuals at ACC have been exposed to or tested for tuberculosis.
