[[link removed]]
January 2024
Greetings. This installment of Immigration Disclosures highlights our fight to keep documents regarding medical treatment received by migrants in CBP custody from being destroyed.
Initial Disclosures:
*
The
Council
and
its
litigation
partners
agreed
to
settle
their
lawsuit
against
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement
seeking
ICE’s
production
of
bond
payment
information.
As
part
of
the
settlement,
ICE
agreed
to
conduct
a
search
for
local
office’s
procedures
about
CeBonds,
the
electronic
bond
payment
platform,
and
to
post
some
other
bond
related
documents
on
the
agency’s
website.
Law360
reported
on
the
settlement
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.
Council Joins Dozens of Organizations and Researchers in the Fight to Protect Records of Migrants’ Medical Treatment
On January 12, the Council, along with the ACLU National Prison Project and the Texas Civil Rights Project, led efforts to oppose U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) proposal to destroy records of medical treatment received by migrants in CBP custody. The records, which are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), cover information about medical history, physical condition, vaccinations, mental health, first-aid, and other medical treatment received by migrants in CBP custody, which include medical assessments, notes of patient encounters, medical summaries, patient refusal of treatment, recorded observations, health interviews, and questionnaires. Currently, these documents would be maintained permanently by NARA. CBP’s proposal would require NARA to destroy these records after 20 years.
The letter to NARA opposing CBP’s proposed disposition, which was signed by more than one hundred scholars and more than seventy organizations, highlighted the importance of these records. The medical records provide an important historical perspective on how CBP treated migrants in its custody, as future generations may use them to study past policies. This is particularly true applicable to current events of great historical importance like the impact of COVID-19 on the country’s immigration policy or the prior administration’s use of family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The letter also raised concerns that CBP’s proposed destruction schedule failed to consider the legal significance of the documents. Permanently maintaining the medical records is helpful in future potential litigation, especially in cases where victims of mistreatment may have been minors or in wrongful death cases.
Why does this matter?
*
CBP’s
proposal
comes
at
the
heels
of
several
high-profile
deaths
of
individuals
in
CBP
custody.
Keeping
these
records,
even
after
twenty
years,
could
be
crucial
to
future
litigation.
*
The
records
have
historical
value
for
future
generations
interested
in
learning
about
how
we
treated
vulnerable
migrants.
Read more: Council and Partners Oppose CBP's Proposal to Dispose of Medical Records of People in CBP Custody [[link removed]]
The American Immigration Council works to hold the
government accountable on immigration issues. We harness freedom of information requests, litigation, and advocacy to expose the wrongdoing and promote transparency within immigration agencies. Make a donation today. [[link removed]]
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