Activists: Mexican's death shows HIV-infected migrants suffer neglect in US detention

[maddezmom]

Activists: Mexican's death shows HIV-infected migrants suffer neglect in US detention
By JULIE WATSON, Associated Press Writer
11:46 AM PDT, August 4, 2008
MEXICO CITY (AP) _ Olga Arellano sobs as she recalls how her HIV-positive daughter spent two months succumbing to infections in a U.S. migrant detention center, complaining that she didn't see a doctor or get the right medicine.

Fellow inmates also begged for help after Victoria Arellano started vomiting blood in their holding cell, where her lawyer said 105 detainees were crammed onto bunks and mattresses in a space designed for 40.


She died three days later, chained to a hospital bed.

The death of the 23-year-old transgender Mexican immigrant is at the forefront of discussions at this week's international AIDS conference in Mexico City. Rights activists say it shows the failure of immigration officials to deal humanely with HIV-positive inmates among the 30,000 migrants held in detention centers across the United States.

New York-based Human Rights Watch says it found 14 cases, including Arellano's, in which HIV-infected immigrants were not given proper care while in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

more:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-aids-conference-migrants,1,6712679.story