LYNN — Immigration authorities have released a mother who suffers from a blood disease. The Lynn woman said she did not receive proper medical care during her four months in detention.
“When they took me out, I didn’t know what they were doing,” said Cecilia Larios through a translator. “I didn’t know where they were bringing me. I got dressed and they put the chains on me. I told the girl, if they were going to put the shackles on my feet, not to put them on that tight because I have a serious medical condition and it really hurts when they put them on too tight.”
She feared she was being deported or moved to another facility, until someone finally translated that she would be released from custody later that day.
Larios was arrested at an immigration office in Burlington more than four months ago when she showed up for a scheduled appointment.
The mother of two, who has lived in the United States for three years, had been told before the appointment that her request for an asylum was denied and she would be deported. She hired a lawyer in Boston to file an appeal on her behalf, but the immigration office said the paperwork was never received. She was detained at the Suffolk County House of Corrections.
Larios’ attorneys had presented the receipt for the mailing of the appeal and filed it again several times, but U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) denied all requests to allow Larios to return home to Lynn, until Thursday, said attorney Petronila Veras-Rizwan.
Since Larios had an appeal pending, does not have a criminal history, and is not considered a threat to the community, her family, attorneys, and members of the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) were persistently arguing that she had been wrongfully detained.
Larios was receiving medical care at the Lynn Community Health Center once a week to monitor her hypercoagulable condition, a problem with the circulation of her blood that puts her at risk for blood clots that could lead to a stroke and other complications. She was also being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, severe anxiety, and depression stemming from violence she witnessed while living in Guatemala. She takes several medications each day.
“It kept getting worse – every time I would visit her, she was worse,” said Joan Amaral, priest at Zen Center North Shore and a member of ECCO. “I was very concerned about her condition the last time that we spoke. She needs to have her blood checked every week and it had been three weeks since it had been checked. She kept saying ‘I don’t know why I’m here.’ It was very traumatic and she had already suffered trauma. She was getting very depressed and and beginning to wonder why she was alive.”
“It was very difficult for me to be inside the detention center,” said Larios. “I have been told over and over by my doctors that if the blood clots reach my heart or my brain I will die. While I was in detention, I suffered a lot of pain because of my sickness and I was also pained in my soul because the burden was very hard in there. I was sad for my children because they were alone, without me.”
During her time in detention, she developed pain in her head, eyes, ears, developed a rash on her skin, and lost feeling in parts of her body.
“It was scary,” said Larios, who has since returned the health center and had extensive tests completed.
“Thank you to all of you who visited me, who called on my behalf, who worked on my behalf,” she said. “It is a great blessing. I don’t know how I will be able to repay you, but I think that the recompense will come from God.”
ICE did not return requests for comment prior to deadline.
