RAICES is working with women transferred from Karnes detention center in Texas to Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, Mississippi. These women are part of a group of more than 1,000 women transferred by ICE from the Karnes detention center to various detention facilities across the country. Through exhaustive efforts, we’ve managed to locate all but 87 of the women.

Our clients were transferred to Mississippi with little or no notice. The transfers occurred as various news outlets covered the poor medical treatment at Karnes. Sadly, these issues persist at the prison where these women are currently detained, and those listed here are dealing with serious medical issues.

One woman was the victim of a violent rape in her home country that left her with severe abdominal pain and untreated PTSD. After two weeks and several requests to see a doctor, she was only given aspirin and she has still not received proper psychological care for her PTSD.

Another client is a 24-year-old woman from Honduras. While meeting with attorneys, she had such intense abdominal pain that she was unable to sit up throughout the meeting. She has been bleeding from her belly button. A nurse told her she suffers from endometriosis but she has not received proper treatment.

Still another client suffers from complications after a brain tumor surgery she received in Venezuela. She saw a specialist in detention, but without an interpreter, she was unable to understand or communicate with the doctor. Her lack of information makes her feel powerless and afraid.

These women have already passed their initial asylum-screening interviews. ICE’s decision to continue their detention is cruel and unnecessary. The sooner they are out, the sooner they can access the medical care they need. Please join the effort by adding your name to the petition below:

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