A last-ditch appeal from the edge of agony: Deon Lewis, a 43-year-old immigrant who has lived in the United States since he was 11, is pleading with ICE to send him back to his home country of Trinidad. Lewis, who has had a green card for more than 30 years, is battling chronic sickle cell disease and claims that ICE agents are preventing him from receiving necessary medical care while he is imprisoned in an immigration detention facility in Houston.
Lewis stated, I’m just waiting for something terrible to happen to me. Why am I still not deported? I’ve been pleading with them to deport me.
Lewis, who has been detained since June 17 and moved to Houston on June 30 following his original incarceration in Louisiana, has had lung surgeries, suffers from excruciating sickle cell crises, and needs daily medication—none of which he has been receiving consistently while incarcerated. This negligence has resulted in severe discomfort, nausea, and episodes of fainting.
Lewis’s criminal history includes a 2020 arrest for marijuana, cocaine, and a pistol, as well as a 2002 guilty plea for cocaine possession. He claims to have paid his debts, completed his probation, put his life back together, launched his own company, and brought up his five kids without the need for child support. Since I was eleven years old, I have lived in this nation. “Yeah,” he answered, “I did something wrong.”
Lewis gave up his right to court review or appeal by signing a specified order of removal in mid-July, allowing for his eventual release. He and his spouse offered to cover his own aircraft ticket to Trinidad out of extreme desperation, a decision he claims he doesn’t regret despite the uncertainties. And I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. Lewis remarked, “I just want to leave so I can get medical attention.”
Rina Gandhi, an attorney, called the extended confinement inhumane. While ICE continues to refuse him crucial medical care for his confirmed sickle cell condition, each day of his prolonged imprisonment adds to his needless, harsh, and extraordinary suffering. She described the intensity of his symptoms, including excruciating pain that makes him throw up and lose consciousness.
In response, ICE defended its practices. Since Lewis lost his passport, officials said they needed perform standard inspections prior to deportation, which includes obtaining travel documents from Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, they cited Lewis’ criminal history, claiming that he poses a threat to public safety and urging that he be held until his removal is feasible.
Gandhi challenged ICE’s position by bringing out a prior instance in which Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported in spite of not having a passport. Uncomfortable questions are raised by the disparate treatment of the situations.
Roxanne, Lewis’s wife, has made several attempts to assist by taking his medications to the facility in the hopes that he will receive treatment. However, Lewis notes that the medical staff has been contemptuous. They choose whether to take you to visit a doctor, nurse, or other professional. But he added that even after I do everything and visit the doctor, they essentially tell me there is nothing they can do. Ibuprofen was being given to me, but they stopped.
Lewis’s wife created a GoFundMe page to help him pay for his legal fees and support the family during this difficult time.
The grim realities that some inmates encounter when survival takes precedence over national boundaries and suffering turns into a plea are starkly illuminated by this example.
