Last week on August 9^th 2017, Lauren Quijano, Health Justice Community Organizer, hosted a medical letter writing workshop “Melting the ICE: Breaking Down Barriers in Immigration Detention” with partnering physicians in NYLPI’s Medical Provider Network, in an effort to share strategies for writing medical advocacy letters for people held in immigration detention facilities.

More physicians continue to join the New York Lawyers for the Public Interests’ Medical Provider Network, as part of the Health Justice Program. NYLPI continues to connect with physicians in New York, New Jersey, and in other states who can help provide medical advocacy to clients and their families.

This work is increasingly important as we have been seeing more news of the medical neglect in both county jails that operate as immigration detention facilities and ICE-operated detention facilities, and we know of patients who are transferred between facilities and across state lines. You can read more about this from our recent report Detained and Denied which followed with a report by Human Rights Watch and Civic, further inspiring a letter to Washington by Senator Gillibrand’s office.

We will continue to advocate for the better care and treatment of family members being held in immigration jails, and call to have as many people released as they are being arrested and detained.