The Associated Press reports:

A U.S. Senate investigation has uncovered dozens of credible reports of medical neglect and poor conditions in immigration detention centers nationwide — with detainees denied insulin, left without medical attention for days and forced to compete for clean water — raising scrutiny about how the government oversees its vast detention system.

The report released by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, is the second in a series of inquiries examining alleged human rights abuses in the immigration detention system. It builds on an August review that detailed mistreatment of children and pregnant women and draws from more than 500 reports of abuse and neglect collected between January and August.

The latest findings document more than 80 credible cases of medical neglect and widespread complaints of inadequate food and water. Senate investigators say that points to systemic failures in federal detention oversight.

The report cites accounts from detainees, attorneys, advocates, news reports and at least one Department of Homeland Security employee, describing delays in medical care that, in some cases, proved life-threatening. One detainee reportedly suffered a heart attack after complaining of chest pain for days without treatment. Others said inhalers and asthma medication were withheld, or that detainees waited weeks for prescriptions to be filled. [Continue reading…]