AURORA, Colo. — The family of a Nicaraguan man who died in 2022 while being held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Aurora has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Melvin Ariel Calero-Mendoza died on October 13, 2022. He leaves behind two children and his partner, Dorling.
The lawsuit states Calero-Mendoza came to the US to "reunite with his family who were escaping from the dangers of Nicaragua where they had witnessed political turmoil, economic instability, and gang violence."
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Calero-Mendoza was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol while entering the US in April and transferred to ICE custody in Aurora on May 2 to await completion of his removal proceedings, according to a release from the immigration agency.
The lawsuit claims that Calero-Mendoza requested medical treatment at least three times in the weeks leading up to his death. He was reporting pain in his calf after playing soccer, according to the court document.
The suit alleges that the doctor at the facility did not diagnose or treat a blood clot in his leg. That blood clot traveled to his lungs and caused a pulmonary embolism, which is a blockage in a lung artery. The blood clot ultimately killed Calero-Mendoza, attorneys argue.
Allegedly, Calero-Mendoza only received over-the-counter pain medications and ice packs for his pain in his leg.
The Aurora Contract Detention Facility (ACDF) is run by The GEO Group, which contracts with ICE. The GEO Group and Dr. Cary Walker are the defendants in this lawsuit.
The lawsuit describes the medical care at ACDF as "reckless, dangerous, and deficient." It asserts his death is part of a disturbing pattern of inadequate medical care and detainee deaths at the Aurora facility.
“What we can see here, and at the detention centers across the board where ICE is holding asylum seekers and other individuals, is that it's by design. There is no way that you will have one doctor for over 1,200 people and not call that a systematic failure," said Luis Cortes, one of the attorneys on the case. “Melvin's death was very preventable. He went to seek medical attention a handful of times, and had he been taken seriously, a blood clot in the leg is something that is very easily detectable.”
Cortes said the next step in the case is waiting for the defendants to respond.
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A spokesperson for ICE said the agency does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation but provided some background information to Denver7.
The spokesperson wrote that ICE is committed to ensuring everyone in custody resides in "safe, secure, and human environments." According to ICE, everyone receives comprehensive medical care throughout their stay.
"All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental, and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility," the ICE spokesperson wrote. A full health assessment is completed within 14 days of entering an ICE facility.
For fiscal year 2022, ICE Health Services Corps had an operating budget of roughly $324 million for healthcare services. "At no time during detention is a detained noncitizen denied emergent care," the spokesperson wrote.
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