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Right to Health
Everyone has the right “to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health.”
International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights art. 12, ¶ 1,
opened for signature Dec. 16, 1966, 993
U.N.T.S. 3.
Right to Health: Findings
Deported persons with mental disabilities face many obstacles
to the highest attainable standard of health, including:
•
•
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Access to Medication
Access to Medical
Records
Access to Medical
Treatment
Right to Health: Recommendations
Provision of Medication Upon Deportation
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Health Service
Corps should provide persons awaiting deportation with at least seven
days of medication in appropriate dosages, pursuant to
ICE/Enforcement and Removal Operations Medical Standards.
Provision of Medical Records
Upon receiving informed consent, all of the deported person’s medical
records should be made available for review and analysis by medical
professionals in the receiving country.
Right to Housing
“ … should not be interpreted in a narrow or
restrictive sense which equates it with, for
example, the shelter provided by merely having a
roof over one's head ... Rather it should be seen
as the right to live somewhere in security, peace
and dignity.”
U.N. Econ. & Soc. Council, Comm. on Econ., Soc.
& Cultural Rights, The right to adequate housing
(Art.11(1)): General Comment No. 4, ¶ 7, U.N. Doc.
E/1992/23 (Dec. 13, 1991).
Right to Housing: Findings
Deported persons with mental disabilities are at high
risk of homelessness due to:
• Barriers to receiving
family support
• Stigma
• Low socioeconomic
status
Right to Housing: Recommendations
Family and Service Provider Notification of Departure
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should provide persons
ordered deported the opportunity to notify family and/or Jamaica-based
service providers of the impending deportation. If the date of deportation
changes, ICE should provide another opportunity to inform their families of
the new departure date.
Securing Housing
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should work to identify
available, accessible, habitable, and affordable housing options in the
receiving country. ICE should assist persons with mental disabilities secure
appropriate housing before they arrive in the receiving country.
Right to Work
“States Parties recognize the right of persons with
disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this
includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by
work freely chosen or accepted in a labor market and
work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible
to persons with disabilities….”
Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities art. 27, ¶ 1, opened
for signature Dec. 13, 2006, A-44910
Right to Work: Findings
Deported persons with mental disabilities face many barriers to
employment, including:
•
Lack of adequate support services to train, certify, and
properly prepare persons with mental disabilities for
employment
•
Dual stigma creates barriers to the accessibility of the labor
market
•
High risk of exploitation and unequal wages
Barriers to Employment Programs in Jamaica
for Deported Persons
• While some employment/certification programs exist (e.g.
HEART/NTA, Hibiscus)…
• They are limited in mandate, funding, scope
• The cost of entering job training and certification programs can
be prohibitive
• Unlike U.K., U.S. does not provide funding for job training
programs
• Training programs do not always accommodate individuals with
mental disabilities
• Few support systems exist in the workplace to enable different
sectors to employ the mentally disabled
• Difficulties physically accessing programs (transportation, etc.)
Right to Work: Recommendations
Formal Recognition of Training and Education
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should provide persons in detention
access to information to regarding any employment certification requirements in the
receiving country. ICE should also provide logistical and financial support to reduce the
barriers that mentally disabled persons face in obtaining such certification.
Vocational and Technical Training
USAID, the appropriate U.S. Embassy or consulate, and local NGOs should collaborate
to support programs that train and educate deported persons to perform in the local
workforce. Such programs should be tailored to the needs of persons with mental
disabilities.
Obtaining Employment
USAID, the appropriate U.S. Embassy or consulate, and local NGOs should assist
deported persons with mental disabilities in finding employment in the receiving
country. This includes building relationships with local businesses as well as funding
and supporting organizations that assist deported and mentally disabled persons with
obtaining employment and adjusting to the local work culture.
Memorandum of Understanding
An MOU between the U.S. and Jamaica would promote
communication, transparency and a sense of ongoing, shared
responsibility for human rights protections. It would address
concerns such as:
• securing personal identification documents
• provision of medical records, medical care, and
medication
• ensuring safe and secure travel logistics
• providing access to U.S. bank accounts and wages
arising out of work at the detention center
United States-Funded Reintegration Programs
U.S.-funded Reintegration Programs in Haiti, Guyana, and El
Salvador provide services such as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
meeting individuals at the airport
hygiene packages
temporary residential facility
assistance with obtaining national identification
reducing stigma
psychosocial support
substance abuse rehabilitation
vocational training
micro-credit loans
family reunification (children)
education (children)
U.K. Programs
The United Kingdom offers several programs and services to individuals
deported from the U.K. to Jamaica, including:
• coordination of mental health treatment, including ensuring
the transfer of medical records & up to one month of
medication
• residential women’s shelter
• job training & placement
• certification recognition assistance
• assistance with obtaining identification
• financial assistance for housing and small businesses
• residential drug treatment
The Facilitated Return Scheme has saved the government an estimated
US$22.6 million a year in prison and detention center costs, as well as in
casework support and legal aid costs.
“The British government considers that we’ve got a responsibility to deportees.
We’ve got … a responsibility to integrate them.” - British High Commission
official
Complementary Protection
Complementary protection is recognized in at least twenty-eight
countries, including European Union member states and Canada.
The Department of Justice should bring the United States into
compliance with this obligation and establish procedures to determine
whether complementary protection is warranted, pursuant to an
individualized assessment of serious harm. Serious harm shall include
serious human rights violations, including violations of the right to
adequate mental health care.
“Ask if the services are available here.
[American] lawyers make the case
that it is sometimes inhumane to send
people back—and it is.”
-Bernard Headley, Professor of Criminology at
the University of the West Indies at Mona