Discussion · House of Representatives
Norma J. Torres Democrat
“People in federal immigration detention centers are calling 911 because they cannot get medical help, and several have died. The government is responsible for the people it locks up. I want answers and accountability for these deaths.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want you to think about what it means to dial 911. You call 911 when you are scared, when you are in danger, or when you need help and you need that help immediately. I know this because for 17\1/2\ years I was that voice on the other side, answering 911 calls, people’s calls for help. Imagine, Mr. Speaker, having to make that call from inside a Federal detention center. That is what happened at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, where ProPublica reviewed more than 160 emergency calls from inside the facility. People were calling 911 because they were sick, in pain, or desperately needed medical help from a place where the United States Government was responsible for keeping them safe but was denying them the help that they needed. Three men died in just 6 weeks. That is why we are here today. People like Geraldo Lunas Campos told the staff at this location that he needed help, and his cries were ignored. He is not just another statistic, and neither are the other people who have died in ICE and CBP custody. They are fathers, sons, brothers, friends, and people with families waiting for them to come home. When the government takes away someone else’s freedom, it takes on the responsibility for that person’s life. Mr. Speaker, you cannot lock someone behind a government door, ignore their cries for help, feed them rotten food and bad water, and then act surprised when someone dies. These deaths deserve answers. They deserve accountability. The families who lost someone in government custody deserve to know why their loved one died and why they did not come home. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who is soon to be Chairman Pallone.”
Mr. Speaker, I want you to think about what it means to dial 911. You call 911 when you are scared, when you are in danger, or when you need help and you need that help immediately. I know this because for 17\1/2\ years I was that voice on the other side, answering 911 calls, people’s calls for help. Imagine, Mr. Speaker, having to make that call from inside a Federal detention center. That is what happened at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, where ProPublica reviewed more than 160 emergency calls from inside the facility. People were calling 911 because they were sick, in pain, or desperately needed medical help from a place where the United States Government was responsible for keeping them safe but was denying them the help that they needed. Three men died in just 6 weeks. That is why we are here today. People like Geraldo Lunas Campos told the staff at this location that he needed help, and his cries were ignored. He is not just another statistic, and neither are the other people who have died in ICE and CBP custody. They are fathers, sons, brothers, friends, and people with families waiting for them to come home. When the government takes away someone else’s freedom, it takes on the responsibility for that person’s life. Mr. Speaker, you cannot lock someone behind a government door, ignore their cries for help, feed them rotten food and bad water, and then act surprised when someone dies. These deaths deserve answers. They deserve accountability. The families who lost someone in government custody deserve to know why their loved one died and why they did not come home. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who is soon to be Chairman Pallone.