San Francisco faith leaders remember those who died in ICE custody – KTVU

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SF Faith leaders warn as more are detained, more will die in ICE custody
SAN FRANCISCO – Protests are only ramping up throughout the Bay Area opposing the recent increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.
Immigrant advocates are saying the increase in arrests will mean more immigrants will die in custody.
Immigrant activists say the increased arrests and detentions are endangering our Bay Area communities and those who are detained. 
Inside the first Unitarian Universalist Church in San Francisco, faith leaders gathered to remember the people who have died in immigration and customs enforcement custody in California. 
"The deaths that have already occurred. Last year the ACLU issued a report that 95% of all ICE deaths were preventable," said Rev. Deborah Lee from the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity. "Were preventable with basic medical care."
Organizers highlighted two in-custody deaths: Ngoc Nguyen who died in April, and Choung Ahn who died in May. Protesters said both men had underlying medical issues and ICE detention facilities were ill-equipped to treat them.
Volunteers read from a letter written by a man who had been detained with Nguyen.
"When they detained him I would call his girlfriend to check on his well-being and she mentioned his health complications and high blood pressure. He was dealing with a lot of neglect."
Priya Patel from the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice said with administration plans to increase arrests, the death toll will only climb.
"As we speak, these facilities are rapidly increasingly being populated, we have no reason to think that the for-profit companies that run all of them are going to work harder to make these places safe," said Patel. 
In Oakland, lawmakers and community leaders came together to speak out about what they call inhumane and unconstitutional ice raids that threaten California communities. They say the state's 2.7 million undocumented immigrants contribute $8.5 billion in state taxes and are a part of the broader community.
"Our democracy is at stake with these ICE raids that are happening across California," said Assemblywoman Liz Ortega, (D) San Leandro. "They started in Los Angeles and they've moved to the Central Valley and they are here in the Bay Area."
Activists are calling on the community to stay engaged and focused on this issue, even working to train volunteers to go to court hearings with undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers to help protect them from ICE arrests. 
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