Equality and Non-discrimination

In January 2012, up to 53 women underwent a sterilization procedure in Bihar, India, at a sterilization camp managed by an NGO which had been granted accreditation by the District Health Society, apparently without following any formal, transparent process. The women had not been given any counseling regarding the potential dangers and outcomes of the sterilization procedures. They were operated on in a school rather than a hospital, in an unsanitary and unethical manner, all by a single surgeon, under torchlight on top of a school desk, and without running water or sanitary gloves.

Leopoldo Zumaya and Francisco Berumen Lizalde were both injured on the job while working without work authorization in the United States. Each sustained long-term physical damage and were denied access to compensation solely because of their immigration status. Mr. Zumaya filed a workers’ compensation claim but had to settle for a fraction of what he would have received if he had been a U.S. legal permanent resident or citizen. Mr. Lizalde was arrested and deported to Mexico – seemingly in direct response to his workers’ compensation claim – and therefore was unable to pursue it.