PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Nearly a month after 46-year-old Parady La died in ICE custody at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, his family is demanding answers from the government and the ACLU has filed a Freedom of Information request on their behalf.
La, who was from Upper Darby, died on Jan. 9 in the hospital after ICE said he suffered from drug withdrawal while in custody. He was a Cambodian-American immigrant whose family fled the Khmer Rouge to Philadelphia in 1982, when he was two-years-old. La was born at a refugee camp in Thailand.
On Thursday, La’s family rallied outside the FDC and took issue with how ICE characterized him. His daughter Jazmine La said she was devastated and angry the agency referred to her dad as a “career criminal” and “illegal alien” when announcing his death.
“He was a real person, and not the career criminal that he was painted to be,” she said.
Lisa Lar, La’s niece, said ICE ignored his humanity when they used those labels.
“The way that they painted him was dehumanizing him,” she said. “They treat people like animals, and it’s horrible.”
La’s widow, Meghan Morgan, wants to find out for certain whether her husband received the correct medical care in custody.
“Hopefully we get some answers from the FOIA request. But even if we don’t get the answers that we want, we still want to hold them accountable for what they did to Parady,” she said.
ICE has until March 6 — or March 20 if they request an extension — to respond to the request. ACLU lawyers expect to litigate in a process which could take months. Lar said she’s prepared for the long haul.
“I know it’s going to take a long time. But, as long as I’m still breathing, I’m still going to fight for my uncle,” she said.