INS CRITICIZED OVER ATTEMPTS TO SEDATE DEPORTEE
The
effort to deport Bao Hua Dong, a woman from China, has created an outcry among
immigrant advocates in the San Francisco area.
The INS first attempted to deport Dong, who has been ordered deported for
unlawfully being in the US, in November, but the airline refused to let her
board the airplane because she was hysterical.
A deportation officer recently said that he would sedate Dong, prompting her
attorneys to file a lawsuit to prevent such action. Responding to the suit, INS officials have issued a number of
conflicting statements. Sharon
Rummery, a spokesperson for the INS, said that the agency does not drug people
to deport them, but later said that if a person were a danger to themselves or
others, it would be necessary to sedate them.
An attorney for the INS then said that while the INS is authorized to forcibly
sedate people to facilitate their deportation, the agency would seek a court
order approving such action before taking it.
Hours before Dong’s deportation was to take place, the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals granted an emergency stay to block the deportation.
It remains uncertain whether the INS has obtained an order authorizing
the sedation of Dong, or whether it was going to sedate her before the
deportation.
INS
VIOLATES CONFIDENTIALITY OF ASYLUM APPLICATION
TEMPORARY
PROTECTED STATUS FOR HONDURANS AND NICARAGUANS EXTENDED
SISKIND'S IMMIGRATION BULLETIN