Child Migrants in Family Immigration Detention in the US: An Examination of Current Pediatric Care Standards and Practices

From the introduction:

“In collaboration with the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), the Child Health Immigration Research Team based out of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Asylum Clinic at the MGH Center for Global Health and the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, analyzed the medical records of 165 children, between 6 months and 18 years old, detained at Karnes County Family Residential Center (KCFRC) between June 2018 and October 2020. Medical records were collected with the permission of parents by the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) Family Detention Team to investigate the provision of medical care for detained children, and analyzed in a de-identified form by the Child Health Immigration Research Team.

Broadly, we found that existing health issues and care needs relating to physical and mental health were under-identified due to poor screening and minimal documentation of medical care, resulting in fragmentated and inadequate medical care. During prolonged detention the children in the study had limited access to basic healthcare, including key screenings and management of acute medical and mental health issues.”