Mentally ill immigrants have little hope for care when detained
"Sanchez was one of the lucky few: His siblings pooled their money to hire an attorney, who made a compelling case to an immigration judge. Sanchez went from the detention center to a San Antonio psychiatric hospital, where he should have been all along.
But most mentally ill immigrants aren't so fortunate.
They get limited mental-health care while in detention, advocates say – and that's only if they're diagnosed.
They aren't entitled to competency hearings before standing trial. And the majority of them face judges without legal counsel, and with little recourse to defend themselves from deportation."
EMILY RAMSHAW in the Dallas Morning News.