By Nicole Barber, Melissa Jangl, Zoe Stein and BoHee Yoon

In spite of bountiful press coverage of immigration, one particular aspect remains ignored - the very large population of torture victims among immigrants in the United States.

Talking about immigrants tortured in their native countries is so rare that most New York City hospital staff, who likely have daily contact with torture victims, are confused when asked about them. They are even confused in Queens, which, with a 54 percent foreign-born population, is one of the most diverse places in the world.

On a visit to City Hospital Center at Elmhurst in Queens, hospital staff did not seem to know what we were talking about when we mentioned torture, even though the hospital runs a clinic for torture victims. We encountered the same reactions when we conducted telephone surveys on behalf of Doctors of the World-USA throughout the city, asking hospital and clinic staff if they knew whether their patient population included immigrants who had been tortured. The lack of awareness was astounding.

In fact, Elmhurst is the only one out of 44 hospitals and clinics surveyed that has a torture screening protocol and the overwhelming majority of staff at the city's facilities are not aware of the possibility that torture has afflicted their patients.

The 2000 Census states 2.9 million immigrants live in New York City, or 36 percent of its population. Various human rights and medical organizations estimate 100,000 to 348,000 torture victims live in New York. Surely the medical community recognizes a population this size as a target group; however, the opposite is true.

Meanwhile, New York City's Chinese immigrant population increased by 64.1 percent from 1990 to 2000 and is a primary example of the growing presence of torture victims. Additional torture victims in New York City who have witnessed public executions and endured electric shock, among other atrocities, are from Bangladesh, Colombia, Haiti, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Russia and Sierra Leone.

There is a desperate need for policy change in New York City's medical community. Nurses, doctors, social workers and administrative personnel are "first responders" and it is vital they are trained and equipped by organizations such as Doctors of the World's Human Rights Clinic to effectively diagnose, treat and report torture.

Without immediate intervention, torture victims will remain invisible and inconsequential in New York City's health system.

The authors are Master's candidates at The New School's Graduate Program in International Affairs in New York City and worked as consultants with Doctors of the World-USA's Human Rights Clinic (www.dowusa.org).