The Transgender Law Center and the Law Office of R. Andrew Free filed a Federal Tort Claim Act (FTCA) complaint against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday over the death of Roxsana Hernández, an asylum seeker who died while in federal custody.

Hernández, 33, arrived in the United States as part of a caravan of Central American migrants. She passed away May 25, 2018, with ICE officials reporting she was hospitalized after suffering pneumonia, dehydration, and complications associated with untreated HIV. An autopsy commissioned by TLC showed signs of abuse, including deep hemorrhaging of the tissue and muscles near her ribs.

The complaint lists 10 charges: wrongful death, gross negligence, negligent hiring and supervision, failure to provide medical care, medical malpractice, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, battery, assault, and aggravated assault.

It argues "ICE, CBP, ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC), Correct Care Solutions employees and their contractors and subcontractors, “failed to provide [Hernández] with adequate medical care despite the fact that she was visibly ill from the time she was taken into CBP custody until her death, and CBP and ICE employees knew she was HIV positive and without antiretroviral medication, violating the agencies’ own policies, causing her emotional distress, physical harm, and death.”

As NewNowNext reported in October, ICE deleted footage of the last days of Hernández’s life at Cibola County Correctional Center (CCCC) in Milan, New Mexico. It said this was due to surveillance video only being kept for about 90 days. That same month, TLC filed a lawsuit against prison contractor CoreCivic to turn over all records, including video footage, related to her death.

"Please archive and retain all facility video surveillance footage," an analyst with ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility wrote in an email dated June 4, 2018, with the word "all" underlined, new documents released by TLC show.

Emails between ICE Headquarters and ICE Albuquerque in August 2018 suggest the footage of Hernández's time at CCCC had been viewed by ICE during its internal investigation. It was never turned over to the family's legal representatives.

Documents released by TLC include the transcript of Hernández’s credible fear interview—in which she discusses fearing for her life after a group of gang members reportedly raped and tried to kill her—a hospital log covering her time in Cibola General Hospital and Lovelace Medical Center, as well as a case log from DHS’s Office of Inspector General (OIG).

"ICE, CBP, and private prison companies like CoreCivic, treat migrants with a devastating amount cruelty—cruelty that is reinforced by the toxic rhetoric and policies of the Trump administration,” said TLC attorney Dale Melchert in a statement. “We’re making documents we receive from these agencies public because we must remember that in custody deaths are preventable.”

Hernández's hospital log shows that while she was suffering from ill health, guards were charged with securing restraints on her wrists and ankles, noting when they were removed for medical procedures or bed cleaning, before being securely fastened once more. The OIG log shows the department opened and closed an investigation into her death within two hours, on June 12, 2018.

"The U.S. government and their agents made decisions that contributed to Roxsana’s death,” said Úmi Vera, campaign and organizing director for Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement. “We’ve heard from our members who’ve survived being incarcerated in detention centers that the inadequate care that Roxsana received is similar to the lack of medical attention they received, even when requested through formal procedures. Many of them feel lucky to be alive."

DHS, CBP, and ICE have until May 25, 2020, to respond before the complaint is filed in federal court.