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"For this desperately sick, vulnerable person, this was torture."
The New York Times reports the shocking and infuriating story of Hiu Lui Ng, a 34-year-old man who died of undiagnosed cancer while in the custody of U.S. immigration officials. His crime? Despite being a peaceful New York resident for the past 15 years, as well as the husband of an American citizen and the father of two American citizens, Ng had once overstayed a visa, so when he went in for the final interview before receiving his green card, he was hauled off and locked away. From the story:
In April, Mr. Ng began complaining of excruciating back pain. By mid-July, he could no longer walk or stand. And last Wednesday, two days after his 34th birthday, he died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a Rhode Island hospital, his spine fractured and his body riddled with cancer that had gone undiagnosed and untreated for months.
[...]
In federal court affidavits, Mr. Ng's lawyers contend that when he complained of severe pain that did not respond to analgesics, and grew too weak to walk or even stand to call his family from a detention pay phone, officials accused him of faking his condition. They denied him a wheelchair and refused pleas for an independent medical evaluation.
Instead, the affidavits say, guards at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, R.I., dragged him from his bed on July 30, carried him in shackles to a car, bruising his arms and legs, and drove him two hours to a federal lockup in Hartford, where an immigration officer pressured him to withdraw all pending appeals of his case and accept deportation.
"For this desperately sick, vulnerable person, this was torture," said Theodore N. Cox, one of Mr. Ng's lawyers, adding that they want to see a videotape of the transport made by guards.
Full story here. Jason L. Riley makes the case for open borders to reason.tv here. reason's guide to reality-based immigration reform here.
Naga Sadow|8.13.08 @ 7:36PM|#
Sweet Jesus! What the fuck is Rhode Island even doing having Immigration feds?
|8.13.08 @ 7:40PM|#
This guy got off light considering the pain fetish of the Bush Gulag - he died of natural causes - notwithstanding his horrible but avoidable confined death.
|8.13.08 @ 7:53PM|#
If Ng is buddhist he still can be faking his death.
Seriously man, those people can reicarnate at will. That is why
they burn themselves to death so the have to come back in a brand
new body, otherwise the temptation would be great to come back as
you again.
|8.13.08 @ 8:16PM|#
From the director of nursing, Ben Candelaria: "We treat each and
every detainee in our custody with the same high level of quality,
professional care possible."
From Ng's sister: "He said, 'I told the nursing department, I'm in
pain, but they don't believe me,' " his sister recalled. " 'They
tell me, stop faking.' "
Also, "[deportation] Officer Smith said that no exam by an outside
doctor would be allowed, and that Mr. Ng would not be given a
wheelchair."
These guys are such blatantly dishonest, monstrous, torturing,
subhuman shitbags. Surely some criminal prosecution is possible?
It's not enough for his family to get rich off some civil lawsuit
(I'm assuming that will probably happen, if the situation was even
close to as bad as the story suggests). People like Candelaria and
Smith and anyone else with authority here should be locked away -
ideally under conditions at least as bad as Ng's, but that would
probably violate torture laws.
|8.13.08 @ 8:17PM|#
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...
so that we can lock them up and watch them die slowly.
Episiarch|8.13.08 @ 8:22PM|#
America, land of opportunity. The opportunity to die a terrible, painful death in the hands of utterly unconcerned government employees.
|8.13.08 @ 8:29PM|#
When did overstaying a visa rate the death penalty?
Since sometime between September 10 and September 12, 2001.
Sovereign Immunity|8.13.08 @ 8:32PM|#
Surely some criminal prosecution is possible? It's not
enough for his family to get rich off some civil lawsuit (I'm
assuming that will probably happen, if the situation was even close
to as bad as the story suggests).
Heh, you make me laugh.
|8.13.08 @ 8:36PM|#
Baseball bats to the knees of immigration officials in Rhode
Island would be a interesting way to start reforming
government.
Posted anonymously, for obvious reasons...
Lonewacker|8.13.08 @ 8:40PM|#
See, they weren't against immigration, they were against illegal immigration.
|8.13.08 @ 8:44PM|#
See thats why we can't let immigrants in - getting all sick and dead and costing taxpayers money treating all their sickness and what not while they enjoy three hots and a cot in a comfy prison on taxpayers dime in scenic Rhode Island.
Tacos mmm...|8.13.08 @ 8:48PM|#
When did overstaying a visa rate the death penalty?
Ummm... he took urr jobs?
JB|8.13.08 @ 9:33PM|#
Legal immigrants are the ones who get screwed the most by
illegal immigration. Why should you try to follow the rules when so
many won't?
Expand legal immigration now.
Dismantle the welfare state.
Let those who want to work, come and work.
Reality Check|8.13.08 @ 9:37PM|#
The Red Chinese government is scheming as we speak to conquer
North America through demographic warfare. Visit Vancouver
sometime. It resembles Shanghai more now than a real Canadian
city.
We CANNOT allow mass immigration from East Asia. By doing do we
will import people that will one day be our overclass.
Naga Sadow|8.13.08 @ 9:43PM|#
Reality Check,
I can't tell if you're a troll or not so I'm going to go eat some
sushi as my "fuck you" to your comment. Preferably made by a chef
who has also overstayed his visa.
|8.13.08 @ 9:49PM|#
"Reality Check" has to be a parody of a regular poster. I can't
imagine anyone who's truly that delusionally paranoid has the
mental capacity to type in complete sentences (well, except maybe
Lonewacko). C'mon, fess up, whoever you are.
By the way, WTF is a "real Canadian city"? Is that the equivalent
of being "from the heartland" here in the good ol' USA?
Orange Line Special|8.13.08 @ 10:12PM|#
Both Reason and the NYT are so transparent it's hilarious.
Fortunately, only a small number of people are stupid enough to
fall for their attempt to promote MassiveImmigration simply because
of extremely rare cases like this.
Of course, that "small number" is heavily represented here.
---
I recommend FollowingTheMoney
in regards to most things you read from Reason.
|8.13.08 @ 10:21PM|#
"...only a small number of people are stupid enough to fall for
their attempt to promote MassiveImmigration..."
The question is, what number of people are stupid enough to fall
for Lonewacko's drivel?
I recommend KeepingInMindThatHe'sADelusionalDipshit in regard to
everything you read from Lonewacko.
curious|8.13.08 @ 10:23PM|#
I've seen documentaries about German concentration camp guards,
and how many of the guards had to drink continuously to do their
jobs.
I imagine the feds don't allow these guys to drink on the
job.
So, who's worse, the drunken thugs or the sober thugs?
|8.13.08 @ 11:03PM|#
This was the work of just a couple of bad apples. Nothing to see here. Move along people.
|8.13.08 @ 11:06PM|#
Speaking as one of your Northern neighbours, allow me to explain "Reality Check"'s comment. He means WHITE.
shecky|8.13.08 @ 11:15PM|#
All they need to do now is charge Ng's estate for the money it cost to incarcerate him. Them immigrants can't be on the dole forever, you know.
|8.13.08 @ 11:33PM|#
Lonewacko is correct.
Trying to use this case to support open borders immigration policy
is a very stretchy stretch. Awful things happen to child molesters
in prison, does that mean we should legalize molestation?
Elemenope|8.14.08 @ 12:09AM|#
Sweet Jesus! What the fuck is Rhode Island even doing having
Immigration feds?
Uh. Because we have a *large* immigrant community.
Oh, and Lonewacko? Fuck you. You make me want for you to be a
"rare" case of something that people don't normally give a shit
about, so you can suffer while knowing that it is people like you
who work hard to prevent people from intervening.
|8.14.08 @ 12:20AM|#
This is what Reality Check's comment would have looked like 100
years ago:
We cannot allow unlimited immigration from Ireland and Italy. Those
micks and dagos will eventually take over the whole country!
|8.14.08 @ 12:55AM|#
I can't figure out who is the bigger asshole in the comments: LoneWacko, for trying to score weak political points, or Shrike, for doing the same. Christ, can't either of you idiots actually address this pathetic situation without spewing your lame venom?
|8.14.08 @ 1:03AM|#
Diego wrote, "This is what Reality Check's comment would have
looked like 100 years ago:" But the comment would have been
practically ripped from newspaper headlines just 20 years before
that, when the Chinese Exclusion Acts were upheld by the courts as
being within the Federal government's constitutional
authority.
You should read the decisions and see what sense they make to you.
Also, whether they actually indicate ANY true constitutional
authority over immigration, especially the power to expel peaceful
people or keep them out of the country.
I've looked through the Constitution for years and I can't find any
such authority. Power to determine rules of naturalization, yes.
Power to repel invaders, yes. Power over international commerce and
customs, yes. But how does any of that credibly translate into a
power to say who can and cannot enter the country, and who must
leave? Given that we have a constitution that explicitly grants the
government the time-honored national power to tax and wage war, and
that further says any power not granted to the government is denied
to it, how can anyone (such as the justices in the Chinese
Exclusion Cases decision) argue that immigration authority is an
inherent power of nations and thus needs not be enumerated in the
constitution? Nevertheless, that's what they did, and that has been
a basic assumption of our immigration law ever since.
The reason our founders put war and taxation into the constitution
was to respect the principle of what later became Amendments IX and
X: In terms of government power, all that isn't explicitly
permitted, even the most obvious and fundamental powers, is
FORBIDDEN.
GILMORE|8.14.08 @ 1:15AM|#
http://lonewacko.com/
Orange Line Special | August 13, 2008, 10:12pm | #
Both Reason and the NYT are so transparent it's
hilarious.
Whereas you are so dense and opaque that its perpetually fucking
depressing.
I guess it balances out, no?
GILMORE|8.14.08 @ 1:19AM|#
Reality Check | August 13, 2008, 9:37pm | #
The Red Chinese government is scheming as we speak to conquer North
America through demographic warfare. Visit Vancouver sometime. It
resembles Shanghai more now than a real Canadian city.
We CANNOT allow mass immigration from East Asia. By doing do we
will import people that will one day be our overclass.
Hm.
Being a retard, you are already an underclass. We normalclass types
dont mind the asian folks who do teh laundry and make the nice
takeout, whereas you just are a waste of time and breath. The
sooner you are forced to emigrate to Asia to serve in their salt
mines, the better. Dress warm!
Rhywun|8.14.08 @ 1:25AM|#
Trying to use this case to support open borders immigration policy is a very stretchy stretch.
I'd settle for "not locking up people who are just here to work and
raise a family in peace and leaving them to die a horrible death".
One needn't support "open borders" to see what a travesty this
story is.
Oh, and - jesus motherfucking tapdancing christ. I suppose I should
kiss any chance of seeing my former partner of four years again
goodbye. I believe he overstayed his visa a couple weeks before
leaving. And I thought not getting the genius visa and not being
allowed to marry me were significant barriers. Silly me.
|8.14.08 @ 2:29AM|#
Awful things happen to child molesters in prison, does that
mean we should legalize molestation?
Nor should we kill people with speeding tickets.
Fredie|8.14.08 @ 3:21AM|#
Who the fuck cares about Ng! This is a battle of the fittest, only the strong survive. Suck his cancer, havin' ass. Maybe he should obey the law.
Chef Jason|8.14.08 @ 3:26AM|#
Bush gulag! LOL LOL. You might want to get a education in history. Talk to some victims of real dictators and mad men. You idealistic kool-aid drinker.
Episiarch|8.14.08 @ 3:50AM|#
I suppose I should kiss any chance of seeing my former
partner of four years again goodbye. I believe he overstayed his
visa a couple weeks before leaving. And I thought not getting the
genius visa and not being allowed to marry me were significant
barriers. Silly me.
Regretfully, Rhywun, that is probably 100% correct. My girlfriend
was going to leave to go back to Spain and then return on a tourist
visa if hers expired. She got her new work visa 3 days before she
would have been overstaying. It was very, very stressful.
I truly hate ICE.
History Chanel Junkie|8.14.08 @ 3:55AM|#
This is what Reality Check's comment would have looked like
100 years ago:
We cannot allow unlimited immigration from Ireland and Italy. Those
micks and dagos will eventually take over the whole
country!
Le Cheque Verite de 1908 would't have needed to change it all that
much. The first immigration (as distinguished from naturalization)
law in the country was 126 years ago and specifically targeted
Chinese.
One thing you got to give them credit, "The Chinese Exclusion Act
of 1882" means what it says. No beating around the bush orwellian
doublespeak back then with bill titles.
|8.14.08 @ 4:32AM|#
Terry wrote, "If Ng is buddhist he still can be faking his
death.
Seriously man, those people can reicarnate at will. That is why
they burn themselves to death so the have to come back in a brand
new body, otherwise the temptation would be great to come back as
you again".
I'm not even sure what you are trying to say here, but in Buddhism
the goal is usually to not reincarnate anymore at all.
Justen|8.14.08 @ 5:26AM|#
Why is it that people have to die, and their stories highly publicized, before any aspect of a sick, corrupt system can be called into question? Maybe it's time to stop looking at little narrow features like whether ICE's medical treatment policies are good and start asking whether any aspect of the system or its motivations are good, right, or even legal. Tyranny in ones own country is always okay as long as it doesn't tread on ones doorstep. The mistake of every civilization in history that fell to tyranny was to assume that what happens to the neighbors stays at the neighbor's house.
BakedPenguin|8.14.08 @ 6:46AM|#
...you got to give them credit, "The Chinese Exclusion Act
of 1882" means what it says.
Well, imagine if they'd kept on letting the Chinese in here back
then. The country would be overrun with railroads.
Abdul|8.14.08 @ 7:20AM|#
This is part of a larger problem with immigration detainees
getting shabby medical treatment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/immigration/cwc_d1p1.html
So far, there's only been a few deaths, which may generate enough
publicity to improve things. However, lots of people in these
prisons have debilitating conditions which, with proper medical
care, could be managed. Instead, these people end up being crippled
for life because they don't get the right care.
Sadly, Ng's best option would have been to accept deportation early
in his detention, fly to Mexico, and walk across the border into
any ER room in the US.
MJ|8.14.08 @ 7:27AM|#
Arresting an illegal immigrant while he is in the last stages of
a good faith effort to legalize his status is terrible wrongheaded
to say the least. It will discourage any illegal from resolving his
status in the right way.
The rest of it is about lousy detention center procedures and
incompetent staff. This could have happened to someone who was a
hardened violent criminal. That criminal's death would not be an
argument against the laws he was arrested for.
|8.14.08 @ 8:13AM|#
Both Reason and the NYT are so transparent it's hilarious.
Fortunately, only a small number of people are stupid enough to
fall for their attempt to promote MassiveImmigration simply because
of extremely rare cases like this.
This last sentence confused me. Are you saying that (1) Reason
promotes MI simply through such rare cases or (2) there are people
fall for MI only because of such rare cases? If the former, your
claim is false: even the sloppiest perusal of the pages of reason
will unearth many more arguments for MI than just these "rare
cases." If the latter, well, then you haven't actually presented a
problem, as you yourself admit that "only a small number" make the
mistake of basing their belief in MI on such rare cases. The rest
of us, presumably, base our belief in MI on all the other arguments
and evidence marshaled on behalf of MI.
|8.14.08 @ 8:29AM|#
These guys are such blatantly dishonest, monstrous,
torturing, subhuman shitbags.
Sadly, that describes far too many in the law
enforcement/corrections jailer* community.
And the "good cops" turn their heads.
* Can we all please drop the euphemism corrections officer
and revert to the more accurate desciption jailer? The penal
complex has long ago abrogated rehabilitation responsibilities.
Matt O.|8.14.08 @ 8:36AM|#
America holds such a high value on human life. That's our mantra, right? Isn't that what separates us from "the animals" of the rest of the world? Reports like this are very unnerving.
Dave T.|8.14.08 @ 10:51AM|#
This kind of takes away from America's moral authority to critize other countries for their human rights abuses, doesn't it?
Neu Mejican|8.14.08 @ 10:59AM|#
Trying to use this case to support open borders immigration
policy is a very stretchy stretch.
But anecdotal evidence is valid when it supports your position and
invalid when it undermines your position...right?
Actually, in this case, I think it highlights the concept that
prisons should be used for protecting society from dangerous
individuals rather than punishing people who simply break the
rules.
|8.14.08 @ 11:09AM|#
Actually, in this case, I think it highlights the concept
that prisons should be used for protecting society from dangerous
individuals rather than punishing people who simply break the
rules.
Completely arbitrary rules enforced by non-thinking bureaucratic
drones.
|8.14.08 @ 11:57AM|#
This kind of takes away from America's moral authority to
critize other countries for their human rights abuses, doesn't
it?
Oh, our moral authority has been out of stock for some time now.
Problem at the factory, I hear. We've got some on back order,
though. Allow 10-15 years for delivery.
|8.14.08 @ 12:01PM|#
I thought our moral authority had been outsourced to China and had been recalled due to high levels of lead.
|8.14.08 @ 12:03PM|#
Oh, our moral authority has been out of stock for some time
now. Problem at the factory, I hear. We've got some on back order,
though. Allow 10-15 years for delivery.
Nonsense. Our moral authority is scheduled to be fully restocked in
November, with the Ascension of Obama. The paperwork probably won't
clear until January, though.
Rhywun|8.14.08 @ 1:28PM|#
My girlfriend was going to leave to go back to Spain and then return on a tourist visa if hers expired.
I think he may do that as well. I've tried to convince him that the
best course of action involves the bare minimum of contact with the
"authorities", even if it means working a shit desk job that
doesn't allow him to use his multiple degrees. He's slowly coming
around. Of course there are many countries that want smart,
able-bodied workers than we do; for example Canada and Australia.
He might wind up in one of those.
J Golden Rockwell|8.14.08 @ 7:13PM|#
Consider the ultimate irony.
Ng was an Asian immigrant.
He was hounded to death by people descended from European
immigrants.
Europeans were the original "illegal immigrants" in the Americas,
invading, killing and eventually conquering the continent.
. . .and who did they take the continent away from . . ?
The descendants of Asians!
It always amuses me to see white idiots screaming about illegal
immigration. The only place in the Americas where they are legal is
Manhattan (they bought it rightfully from the former owners).
Conservationist|8.15.08 @ 8:21AM|#
Immigration is a population explosion that lowers quality of life for current citizens. The nation state, unstable at best, wobbles under this load.
Conservationist|8.15.08 @ 11:28AM|#
And I'm still a pathetic moron troll and a sea of contradictions. That's why I'm a neo-Nazi while listening to rock-and-roll derived metal while failing to realize the utter hypocrisy of it, or the fact that I'd be be killed in a real Fourth Reich myself.
Arasmus|8.15.08 @ 6:24PM|#
Here is the link to the petition for habeas corpus: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4796009/Hiu-Lui-Ng-Petition-for-Habaes-Corpus
|8.15.08 @ 6:50PM|#
Justen wrote, "The mistake of every civilization in history that
fell to tyranny was to assume that what happens to the neighbors
stays at the neighbor's house."
A corollary to that is that any law you endorse to control "the
neighbors" will someday be used to control YOU. Very few people who
agitate for restrictive laws ever imagine that those laws will be
rigorously (or even worse, prejudicially) turned against
themselves, and even fewer would be willing to go along with such a
thing if it happened. That's the sure litmus test for "better think
twice about making X into a law..."
Arasmus|8.15.08 @ 7:21PM|#
Here is a link to the Delicious bookmark with which information
relevant to Hiu Lui Ng is being gathered. Please use this bookmark
to tag any discussion of this case that you find.
http://delicious.com/arasmus/hiu-lui-ng
Alley|8.21.08 @ 1:54PM|#
the detention facility was *private* rather than public. their website promoted it as a economic engine for the community. another facet of the prison-industrial complex...
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