Santa Ana to Settle Lawsuit Alleging Denial of Rights to Deaf Woman in ICE Detention
Rosario Maciel Avitia remained at Santa Ana Jail under Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention five months longer than she should have. Avitia, deaf since birth, communicates primarily by American Sign Language (ASL) and isn't fluent in English. According to a lawsuit filed on her behalf, when ICE agents arrested Avitia on May 29, 2015, jail staff failed to "effectively communicate" that she became eligible for bond just days later. As a result, ICE kept Avitia away from family until November, when they released her.
The Santa Ana City Council reached a tentative $140,000 settlement in the case last week, even as councilman Jose Solorio attempted to revive the now-expiring ICE jail contract in vain during that same meeting. "We are pleased to have gained protective injunctive relief to prevent what happened to the plaintiffs in this case from happening to another deaf, hard-of-hearing person housed in the Santa Ana city jail," attorney Trevor Finneman told the Weekly. "I genuinely want to commend the city of Santa Ana and ICE for working with us so that we could reach a tentative settlement in the very early stages of this litigation."
Avitia missing bond due to a lack of accommodations isn't the only violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act the suit alleges. Throughout the undocumented woman's five-month detention at the jail, she was denied other key rights. Avitia didn't receive the services of qualified ASL interpreters or other forms of auxiliary aid at any point during her detention and because of that, she didn't understand important information about the jail during booking.
Avitia also requested an interpreter to help with medical staff appointments about clinical depression, back and knee pain. But without any auxiliary aid, she had her depression medication changed four times during her detention while pains only worsened.
Read more: http://www.ocweekly.com/news/santa-ana-settling-with-deaf-immigrant-detained-by-ice-7967327
