A lawsuit has been launched against the GEO Group, the company responsible for the operation of the Aurora immigrant detention facility, in the wake of a Nicaraguan national's death while in custody. The deceased, Melvin Ariel Calero-Mendoza, succumbed to a blood clot in October of last year, an incident that the lawsuit claims could have been prevented with proper medical care. According to KDVR, Calero-Mendoza's death, after an injury sustained while playing soccer, marks the third in the facility's history.
About this tragic event, the legal complaint alleges medical negligence on the part of the facility's staff. "Melvin requested to see a doctor three times in the weeks leading up to his death, complaining consistently of unbearable pain in his right leg," "Melvin should still be alive today," said the family's attorney, as per 9News. The legal action targets both the GEO Group and a physician working at the detention center, implicating them in the failure to diagnose and treat the blood clot that led to Calero-Mendoza's untimely death.
At the core of the lawsuit is the claim that the staff at the Aurora facility ignored Calero-Mendoza’s repeated pleas for help while his condition deteriorated. An autopsy later revealed the blood clot as the cause of death, potentially linked to his prior foot injury. This has sparked further scrutiny of other detention facilities and their adherence to standards of medical care for detainees.
In response to the allegations, an ICE spokesperson asserted the agency's commitment to the welfare of all individuals in its care, stating that all detention facilities provide immediate access to medical, dental, and mental health services upon arrival and that a comprehensive health assessment is completed within 14 days. "At no time during detention is a detained noncitizen denied emergent care," the spokesperson emphasized, as obtained by Denver7. Furthermore, for the fiscal year 2022, the ICE Health Services Corps reportedly had an operating budget of approximately $324 million for healthcare services.
