Migrant children forcibly given psychotropic drugs at US detention centres: Lawsuit

The staff working for the Office of Refugee Resettlement after US President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy came into effect have been injecting migrant children with psychotropic drugs without their parent's consent to make them dizzy, listless, obese and even incapacitated, according to legal filings.

Children held at Shiloh Treatment Center, a government contractor south of Houston that houses immigrant minors, described being held down and injected, according to the federal court filings. The lawsuit alleges that children were told they would not be released or see their parents unless they took medication and that they only were receiving vitamins, according to the lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles-based Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law.

"If you’re in Shiloh then it’s almost certain you are on these medications. So if any child were placed in Shiloh after being separated from a parent, then they’re almost certainly on psychotropics," said Carlos Holguin, a lawyer representing the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law.

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As mentioned in the lawsuit, one child said that they were asked to take up to nine pills in the morning and another seven in the evening without knowing what the medication was.

Parents and the children themselves told attorneys the drugs rendered them unable to walk, afraid of people and wanting to sleep constantly, according to affidavits filed April 23 in US District Court in California.

Some said they had been held down and given injections when they refused to take medication, the lawsuit said.

One mother said neither she nor any other family member had been consulted about medication given to her daughter, even though Shiloh had their contact details. Another mother said her daughter received such powerful anti-anxiety medications she collapsed several times, according to the filing.

Most of the allegations center on Shiloh Residential Treatment Center, in Manvel, Texas. But lawyers in the Flores case, who have access to the medical records of their clients, say the problem is widespread.

Taking multiple psychotropic drugs at the same time can seriously injure children, according to the filing, which highlights the need for oversight to prevent medications being used as "chemical straight jackets," rather than treat actual mental health needs.

ORR-run centers unilaterally administer the drugs to children in disregard of laws in Texas and other states that require either a parent's consent or a court order, the filing said.

Shiloh has contracted to house immigrant children since 2013. Last year, the most lucrative yet under its agreement, Shiloh collected $5.6 million.

(With inputs from Reuters)