Batavia detainee says ICE is denying medication for serious eye injury

BATAVIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — An immigrant at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Batavia Holding Center alleged in a federal petition challenging his detainment that he is subjected to “inhumane and punitive conditions” due to officers denying him prescribed medications for a serious eye injury, resulting in “severe stabbing pain.”

“Perhaps even more disturbing, in response to Plaintiff’s numerous requests for his prescribed medications, the ICE officers told Plaintiff that they will not give him his medications unless and until he self-deports,” the detainee’s attorney, Jon Crain, said in a federal petition challenging the detention. Crain declined to comment on the case.

The petition, filed against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, alleged the detainee’s ophthalmologist and primary care doctor were unsuccessful in convincing ICE officials that the detainee’s end-stage glaucoma in his left eye requires necessary and immediate access to medicine and treatments.

“It is necessary that the patient receives monitored, uninterrupted medication administration,” Dr. Sai Gandham said in a letter to the facility on July 9, six days after authorities detained the immigrant in Malta, located in Saratoga County, and brought him to Batavia.

The petition stated the detainee ruptured his left eyeball with a nail gun at work, which scarred his cornea, caused nerve loss, and numerous other complications. He is prescribed 10 medicines that the lawsuit alleged he has not received.

Instead of the medications, the petition stated the detainee was only provided eye drops that “have been completely ineffective.”

In addition, the detainee alleged the facility has refused to provide new contact lenses, forcing him to use a months-old pair that could lead to infection or bacterial growth, according to the lawsuit.

“As a result of Defendants’ intentional indifference to the significant suffering and ongoing harm to Plaintiff’s health and safety, Plaintiff has been suffering from constant and excruciating pain, and has experienced significant vision deterioration, which continues to worsen with each passing day that Plaintiff is denied his medical prescriptions and treatments,” the peition alleged.

Taylor Cuomo, an attorney in Albany, said in an affidavit that she visited the Batavia facility to discuss releasing the detainee due to his medical needs, “but they refused to talk to me.”

ICE policy for its detention facilities requires detainees have access to prescribed medications as necessary, respond immediately to medical emergencies, and contact local medics in urgent cases.

The petition seeks to end “unlawful violations and the significant harm they inflict upon Plaintiff.”

The case is one of 83 habeas corpus petitions filed in the Western District of New York since the Trump Administration took office and vowed to take a hard stance on illegal immigration. At least 50 cases remain active.

Almost 3,000 habeas cases have been filed nationwide.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Meredith A. Vacca granted a temporary restraining order for the Batavia detainee, which included a request to release the detainee immediately so that he could receive the necessary medical care due to a “grave threat to his health” or set a bond hearing that would require ICE to explain why the detention is necessary.

The restraining order also directs the facility to stop subjecting the detainee to “unlawful and unconstitutional conditions,” and prevent medical staff from performing surgical removal of the detainee’s eye and ensure he is getting access to the medication.

ICE officials typically decline to comment on active litigation, but an agency representative did not immediately respond to WIVB’s inquiries on this case.