Hispanic Man Says He Lost Half His Lung While in ICE Custody: Now Faces Deportation

• Mario Vargas: Lost Half a Lung While Detained
• ICE Denied Medical Care
• Faces Deportation in November

Mario Vargas, 45, shared in an interview with Univision that he was arrested by immigration agents on May 24 while working in Atlanta.

After his detention, he began feeling unwell, with fever and severe back pain.

“They arrested me on May 24. When I arrived at ICE, they took me there, all I remember is that they drained fluid, but another person told me no, that they had to cut it out.”

He was held in an immigration jail in Atlanta, where he claims he did not receive adequate medical care.

Mario Vargas Shares His Experience in ICE Custody

“I started feeling sick two weeks after I entered the jail. I developed a fever. I began feeling pain here in one lung when breathing.”

Mario Vargas says he had no chronic illnesses before being detained.

“They’d report it to ask for help. They punished him. They’d leave him locked up there,” he said.

According to his account, he was not given medication that could relieve his pain.

“The pills didn’t take away the pain.”

Nor was he allowed to communicate with his family.

“They wouldn’t let him communicate. We only found out he was sick through a fellow detainee.”

When Mario Vargas was transferred to the Stewart Detention Center, he finally received medical attention.

“Well, there, there, a doctor did see me.”

ICE transferred him to a hospital in Columbus on June 18 for surgery.

“Because the hospital… after that, I couldn’t do everything, like going to the bathroom or anything else, because I can’t do it on my own.”

Mario Vargas spent two weeks in a coma after the operation.

He woke up on July 2 to the news that half of his right lung had been removed.

“They said they had to cut out a piece of lung.”

The diagnosis was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“They said it was because of the cold air in there. And what we were breathing in was still something bad. Not all of us were given masks, so there was an infection there.”

He signed for voluntary departure

His pain was so severe that it led him to sign for voluntary departure so he could leave and receive medical care.

On June 18, ICE agents transferred Mario Vargas to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment.

Univision was able to verify documents confirming this transfer.

“After that, I don’t remember anything,” Vargas described.

He was in a coma until July 2.

Once conscious, he learned that a portion of his lung had been removed.

Vargas’ diagnosis, according to medical records, was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Doctors believe it resulted from an untreated infection.

No Money for Medical Care

On July 7, he had to leave the hospital because his family could no longer afford the medical bills, and he has no health insurance.

“I need help for everything, because even going to the bathroom or doing anything else—I can’t do it alone,” Vargas said.

His family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help him.

The Mexican national has until November 2 to leave the United States under the terms of his voluntary departure.

However, immigration attorney Michael Urbina believes this could potentially be revoked.

On July 7, Mario Vargas had to leave the hospital.

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“ICE officials were no longer taking responsibility for him until he woke up.”

While hospitalized, he signed a voluntary departure from the country.

“Why? Because I wanted to leave. To get treatment.”

Now, Mario Vargas must leave the United States before November 2, though his lawyers argue that his signature on the document might be challenged because it was obtained while he was in critical condition.

“It’s complicated. Among the possible arguments is that the signature isn’t valid because, to some extent, it was signed under a form of pressure due to the health crisis he was experiencing.”

Mario Vargas’ family denounces the conditions in the detention center and the lack of medical care.

“When I walk, I’m short of breath. Without this, I can’t walk.”

In addition to the deportation process, they are exploring the possibility of filing a civil lawsuit.

“And on the other hand, the family’s attorney says that independently of the immigration case, Mario could also file a civil lawsuit. Of course, we will continue to monitor this situation.”

What do you think about this case and the conditions faced by migrants detained by ICE?

SOURCE: Univision