ICE seeks removal from Wyatt death suit

PROVIDENCE – A federal judge was slated to hear arguments last week regarding the alleged neglect of a terminally ill Chinese immigrant detained in the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls two years ago, The Associated Press reported.
The case involves the August 2008 death of Hiu Lui “Jason” Ng, 34, who was accused of overstaying a tourist visa and detained at the facility for the last month of his life.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is among the nearly two-dozen defendants in the lawsuit. The federal agency seeks to be dismissed on grounds that staffers at the jail are contractors, not government workers, The AP said. However, lawyers for Ng’s family see the government as a “critical target” that should be held accountable.
Advocates for immigrants’ rights say Ng’s death and similar cases raise troubling questions about “uneven” oversight of detention centers, especially at facilities such as Wyatt, which are privately run.
Ng’s death sparked a series of changes at Wyatt, including the hiring of a new interim director. Michael Fair, the former commissioner of the Mass. Department of Corrections, was named to head to the facility on an interim basis in December.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in October also announced proposed detention reforms, including classifying immigrant detainees according to the risk they pose. •