CNN just reported that the US just settled an immigrant drugging suit. Amadou Diouf, an immigrant from Senegal, and another immigrant, Raymond Soeoth of Indonesia, accused ICE agents of injecting them with drugs against their will as they were about to be deported back in 2007. Soeoth’s medical records indicate one of the drugs used on him was Haldol - a nasty drug used to treat schizophrenia or other mental illnesses - although he had no history of mental illness. It’s still unclease clear what drug was injected into Diouf.

Amadou Diouf had attended California State University, Northridge, and later married a US citizen. In February 2006, ICE agents took Diouf into custody and informed him that he was to be deported, despite the fact that a judge had granted him a stay of deportation. Diouf was handcuffed and bundled onto a Sengal-bound flight with a ICE-appointed “medical escort.” Diouf told a flight attendant in French that he wanted to speak to the captain, which triggered the escort’s suspicion. He later berated Diouf for “not following orders,” and with the help of another agent, he grabbed Diouf and shoved him toward a lavatory.

“He took the bag out, and he took out the syringe,” Diouf recounts. “At that point I knew that, you now, they’re going to sedate me…. I refused to get inside the lavatory anyway, and I was pushed to the back and wrestled to the ground.” At the next stop (the accounts I’ve read don’t say whether the flight was diverted), Diouf and his captors were kicked off the plane by orders of the captain. As they departed the aircraft, Diouf’s legs were so unsteady as a result of the drugs that he fell down the stairs and landed in a heap on the tarmac.

Raymond Soeoth is a 38-year-old Chinese Christian pastor from Indonesia. In 1999, Soeoth and his wife fled that country to escape religious persecution. His application for asylum was denied. He was later incarcerated over at the San Pedro Service Processing Center in San Pedro, California while he appealed that decision. On December 7, 2004, Soeoth was told he was going to be deported and was not given time to contact his wife or attorney. Asked how he felt, and if he wanted a tranquilizer, Soeoth replied that he was all right and didn’t want to be drugged. A few hours later, agents entered his cell and was forcibly injected with the antipsychotic drug Haldol, which caused him to lose consciousness.

As part of the agreement, Diouf will receive $50,000; Soeoth gets $5,000 and will be allowed to stay in the United States for at least two more years. Sadly, ICE states that “The settlement does not constitute an admission of any wrongdoing or liability by the government.” And the only reason they reached the settlement, “the agency believes that the resulting agreement is in the best interest of the government.”

If this settlement “does not constitute an admission of any wrongdoing,” is ICE saying they are just sorry they got caught. Does this mean ICE will continue its practice of drugging immigrants, even thou CNN is reporting that as a result of the lawsuit, ICE has changed its policy that “sharply restricts the way such drugs are used against detainees.” What does it mean it will “sharply restricts the way such drugs are used against detainees?” It is obvious they will continue to use drugs against immigrants, the only change is the WAY they use it. The inhumane policy now require a “judge’s permission,” according to CBS.

An internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo dated Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press on Friday said effective immediately, agents must get a court order before administering drugs “to facilitate an alien’s removal.”

“There are no exceptions to this policy,” said the memo written by John Torres, detention and removal director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

CBS also reported that ICE admits to have already drugged 33 of 56 detainees facing deportation (more than half) involuntarily who no history of psychological problems. In other words, not only do we torture people outside this country, with torture methods similar to the methods used in World War II, but we are also forcibly drugging people with no history of mental illness to deport them.

And people wonder why we are the becoming the most hated country in the world?

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