Medication Confiscation: How Migrant Children Are Placed in Medically Vulnerable Conditions.

Abstract

* Abbreviations: CBP — : Customs and Border Protection DHS — : Department of Homeland Security Immigration across the US-Mexico border has increased dramatically since 2014.1 The current US immigration system is overwhelmed and ill equipped to handle such volumes, leading to a major disruption in medical care and services granted to refugee and immigrant children.2 More specifically, the health of these children is of dire concern because of overcrowded facilities with infectious disease exposures, insufficient access to medical services for children with underlying medical conditions, and poor support for the consequences of the challenging travel from their country of origin. Consequently, within the past year alone, at least 6 pediatric deaths have occurred while in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention centers.3 Since their stories were publicized, there has been a growing concern raised both by the general public2 and the American Academy of Pediatrics1 regarding the treatment of children at these facilities. On further review of the workflow involved in processing immigrants within these centers, a new issue has arisen, which appears to be both prevalent and underreported.4 Several news outlets released stories about detained children and adults having their medications confiscated.2,4 Specifically, medications critical for the management of chronic conditions, such as insulin, steroids, and antiepileptics, were permanently removed from detainees while at these facilities without proper replacement.4 This represents both a human rights violation and a breach of federal … Address correspondence to Ilana Harwayne-Gidansky, MD, FAAP, Stony Brook University Children’s Hospital, 101 Nicolls Rd, HSC-T-11-070, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8111. E-mail: Ilana.Harwayne-Gidansky{at}stonybrookmedicine.edu