ICIE has worked with a number of innocent foreign nationals forced to wear ankle monitors, even though they are not a flight risk or a security threat and are working to settle their legal residency status. In fact, most are productive members of the society they want to call home. Among the individuals forced to wear ankle monitors that ICIE has worked with:
*Nasima is a foreign national from Bangladesh and has a Masters Degree in Bengali, the official language Bangladesh. She was detained for six months and was completely traumatized by the event. When she visited the ICIE offices and one of the staff members waved their hand in front of her, she did not even blink.
*Ali is from Iraq. He left his country in search of asylum, but when he arrived in the United States, he was thrown in jail because of his religion. He was released on his own recognizance in 2003, but ICE chose to place an ankle monitor on him in early 2012. He owns his own business and has a U.S. citizen wife and child.
*Carol is from Nigeria and arrived in the U.S. in 1980. She started a new life and became a registered nurse in the state of Texas. Carol did not have an easy life in the U.S.; she has been in two marriages where she was physically abused by her spouses. As an RN, she contributes to society by helping save lives. Because of her ankle monitor, she has not been to a doctor in two years, and has not been able to receive CT scans to see why she has been having headaches for the past few years. We believe the ankle monitor is causing her headaches.
*Kobongo is a young man from Zambia who was born with AIDS. He was raised in the U.S. since he was a baby, and America is the only home he has known. He is an active volunteer at his church. He loves to work out to stay healthy, but he's not even able to run because the monitor will start to beat and hurt his ankle. People with AIDS are not supposed to be under stress, as it can affect their health. In addition to fighting AIDS from birth, Kobongo now has to struggle with the ankle monitor, even though he has done nothing wrong.
*Erica is a mother of three U.S. citizen children, and two of them are sick. Her three-year-old has a heart condition that causes his heart to grow larger very quickly. At some point, his heart will be too big for his chest, and it could kill him. Her one-year-old is under a doctor's care because of the accumulation of liquid on his brain according to the doctors. Despite her kids’ illness, her application for stay of deportation was denied. An ICE agent screamed at her to go back to Mexico and find a doctor there.
These are just a few of the individuals that wear ankle monitors without any reason or probable cause. ICE does not care for these individuals and for their families. ICE does not care that this can have a negative impact in their lives and frighten them mentally.
ICIE believes that these ankle monitors have been placed on foreign nationals without criminal records to meet a contractual quota set by the supplier of the ankle monitors. These ankle monitors are cruel and unusual punishment. They are meant to diminish people’s self-esteem and make
them feel like they do not belong in society. The ICIE staff will take this matter to the highest authority in pursuit of the justice these foreign nationals deserve.
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