Mental Health Abuse at Otay Mesa
Complaint: Multi-Individual Complaint regarding Unprofessional, Unethical, and Negligent Treatment by Dr. Hrysso Fernbach at Otay Mesa Detention Center
Filed: March 8, 2022
In a complaint filed by FFI and partner organizations, 12 immigrants currently or previously detained in federal immigration custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Facility in San Diego came forward to report severe mental health abuses at the hands of a psychologist whose pattern of negligence and misconduct further traumatized and endangered those who acknowledged risk of harm to themselves or others due to mental illness.
BACKGROUND ON COMPLAINT:
Submitted to the California Board of Psychology, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and offices within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the complaint establishes a troubling pattern of dismissive, unethical and prejudiced treatment by Dr. Hrysso Fernbach. Fernbach is a licensed psychologist contracted by CoreCivic, the private operator of the detention center.
Numerous incidents included in the complaint document Dr. Fernbach’s refusal to believe patients’ reporting of symptoms and her use of mocking, hateful and derogatory language that left individuals seeking treatment for their mental health conditions in a state of confusion, and in many cases, in worse condition than before their interaction with Fernbach.
Drawing on psychiatrists’ independent medical reviews of patients’ charts, previous complaints documenting Fernbach’s misconduct and recent reports of ongoing mistreatment, advocates are calling for Fernbach to be immediately removed from her position and for the revocation of her license to practice psychology.
“Just because someone is facing a deportation order, that doesn't mean that we don't have mental health problems. At Otay Mesa, they didn't want to help me at all. The first time I asked for help, they put me in solitary confinement. I couldn't sleep, I had PTSD, I would wake up sweating and pacing back and forth. I would see things and people that weren't there, like my daughter. I tried to get help for the first time in my life.”
— Junior Jerome, one of the individuals in the complaint who has since been released from ICE detention.
In California and across the U.S., the immigration detention system is notorious for its severely inadequate mental health care and psychologically torturous conditions. Advocates and people in detention have long documented these system-wide failures, marked by dehumanizing treatment, prolonged isolation from family and support networks, transfers away from loved ones and frequent use of solitary confinement.
“While many will be shocked to learn of the egregious actions of Dr. Fernbach, this case is unfortunately emblematic of the type of neglect and abuse people inside detention are subjected to,” said Layla Razavi, interim co-executive director with Freedom for Immigrants. “People in detention are routinely deprived of essential and critical health care, compounding this already abusive and isolating experience. We need a system that invests in and supports mental health, not one that damages it.”
The groups that filed the complaint include Al Otro Lado, American Friends Service Committee - San Diego, Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, Detention Resistance, Freedom for Immigrants, Free Them All San Diego, Party for Socialism and Liberation - San Diego, SOLACE (Souls Offering Loving And Compassionate Ears), Interfaith Detention Center Visitation Project of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, Tahrir Liberation Community Law: Law Office of Lillian Boctor.
"In detention, it always feels like we are not being heard. Knowing this complaint is filed and made public makes a difference for the state of mind of us inside. But we demand that the state of California take immediate action to support people in detention with mental health conditions since it's clear that ICE and DHS have been ignoring us."
— Erik Mercado, another individual in the complaint who remains detained at Otay Mesa
Visitation Policy Victory at Otay Mesa
In October 2018, Freedom for Immigrants sent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) a letter regarding CCA/CoreCivic’s visitation policy at Otay. The policy has prevented countless families from visiting their loved ones if they are not on a limited approved visitor list, which has to be set up by the person in detention with the private prison staff. It also has prevented community volunteers from visiting people who ask for a visitor. The policy, we noted, was in direct violation of ICE’s 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS), with which Otay is supposed to comply. The PBNDS 2011 states clearly: “Facilities shall not require approved visitor lists from ICE/ERO detainees.”
COMPLAINT RESULT:
CRCL responded saying that “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Otay Mesa Detention Center (OMDC) contacted CoreCivic regarding the approved visitation list set forth in this matter. CoreCivic agreed to remove its requirement for approved visitor lists as a condition of visitation for detainees within the Otay Mesa Detention Center. ICE has also requested CoreCivic to revise its written policies to reflect such change. CoreCivic has agreed to make this revision and will provide ICE an update on this matter soon.” As of December 2018, CCA/CoreCivic has made this change.
Read CCA/CoreCivic’s new policy here.
BACKGROUND ON COMPLAINT:
“This is a key victory for government transparency because it enables community volunteers to visit people in immigration detention and monitor detention conditions without undue barriers,” said Christina Fialho, co-founder/executive director of Freedom for Immigrants. “We must fight to end any and all barriers that further separate families and keep advocates, lawmakers and the public in the dark about conditions inside immigrant prisons.”
CCA/CoreCivic’s prior policy of requiring approved visitor lists posed significant issues for detained individuals, especially people seeking asylum. They make up a large percentage of the facility’s population and may not have prior relationships with people within visiting distance or elsewhere in the country. Even those who do have loved ones near the detention facility faced barriers in adding to or changing their approved visitation lists due to language difficulties or lack of orientation regarding visitation policy.
It is important to note that all other ICE-contracted prisons and county jails in California do not require an approved visitor list and are in compliance with this provision of the PBNDS 2011.
“This victory is especially important right now as asylum seekers with the migrant caravan are being arrested at the border and then imprisoned in Otay and other immigrant prisons,” said Rebecca Merton, the national director of visitation and independent monitoring with Freedom for Immigrants. “While we are glad CCA/CoreCivic is implementing this reasonable change, after years of our advocacy, we must continue to hold them accountable.”
Freedom for Immigrants has documented widespread abuse at CCA/CoreCivic’s Otay Detention Facility over the years. In April 2017, Freedom for Immigrants (formerly CIVIC) documented how Otay is among the top five detention facilities nationwide with the highest number of complaints related to sexual and/or physical abuse incidents. This summer, Freedom for Immigrants reported incidents of hate or bias motivated by xenophobia at Otay, such as when an individual was denied pain medication and an X-ray as a result of the prison’s medical staff stated dislike of “illegals [that] only come to the US to steal jobs from White people.”