Suit alleges deportees forcibly drugged

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Some former detainees have filed suit claiming the U.S. immigration agency forcibly drugged them while trying to deport them.

The class-action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in Los Angeles seeks an end to the alleged practice and unspecified damages.

One of the drugs allegedly used by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was Haldol, often prescribed for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, CNN reported.

The subject of ICE forcibly drugging detainees was raised last month by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., during renomination hearings for ICE chief Julie Myers.

A Lieberman spokeswoman told CNN in an e-mail that the information his committee has "received from ICE regarding the forced drugging of immigration detainees is extremely troubling, particularly since it appears ICE may have violated its own detention standards."

The e-mail said Lieberman plans to follow up to make sure "detainees are not drugged unless there is a medical reason to do so."

ICE refused to comment on the allegations, citing the litigation, but told Lieberman 1,073 detainees have had "medical escorts" for deportation since 2003.

From October last year to the end of this April this year, Myers wrote Lieberman in response to questions, 56 deportees were treated with psychotropic medications; 33 of those were medicated "because of combative behavior with the imminent risk of danger to others and/or self," CNN reported.