Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Detention facilities cannot respond adequately to this pandemic

Priya Pathak, MD, MPH
Policy
June 2, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

In the world of pediatrics, my colleagues and I remain vigilant about the threat of coronavirus to children. Every week, we learn more information about new presentations of COVID-19, such as novel inflammatory syndromes. Still, I am hopeful that with supportive home care, good infection control practices, and access to high-quality health care when needed, we can keep children in our communities healthy and safe. However, there is a group of children who lack all these protective factors, and who I feel powerless to help. Nearly 7,000 detained immigrant children are at risk of contracting COVID-19, and they are more susceptible to becoming seriously ill. Furthermore, COVID-19 could quickly move from detention centers into surrounding communities, putting us all at greater risk.

Well before the pandemic, children were dying in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, often of respiratory illnesses. Children in detention have disproportionally higher rates of conditions like asthma, malnutrition, and immunosuppression, placing them at increased risk of serious illness or death in a system that is simply not set up to provide health care. Despite three children having died in custody of the flu or flu-related complications, the flu vaccine was not offered to many children in custody. The government recognizes that there are not enough clinicians or specialized care services in shelters holding migrant children.

Now, we are starting to see a crisis of COVID-19 spreading via detained children. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) first confirmed positive cases in children and staff last month. Then there were confirmed reports of spread among children in a facility in Chicago, and this month, ICE reported 943 cases in detainees. Moreover, a high proportion of children infected with COVID-19 show no symptoms, and testing remains limited. Asymptomatic children can spread the infection to each other, staff, visitors, vendors, and contractors, who may further spread the virus in their community, especially as lockdowns end. These “tinderbox scenarios” of geographic spread from detention sites across the country threaten to prolong the intensity and length of the crisis we are already mired in.

Knowing how COVID-19 is straining resources even at highly specialized pediatric centers, it’s hard to imagine detention facilities responding adequately to this pandemic. ICE claims that their facilities “continue to incorporate CDC’s Covid-19 guidance”. However, attorneys report seeing large groups of children crowded in a room for legal screenings, no evidence of these rooms being sanitized, and diluted soap in bathrooms. Social distancing is nonexistent. Any parent or sibling can attest to the futility of asking young children to maintain strict hygiene or physical distance in crowded settings. ICE says it is testing detainees with symptoms and wants to increase quarantine capacity, but neither of these strategies addresses the issue of asymptomatic children. Even if it were feasible, keeping young children who are already forcibly separated from parents, in isolation, for weeks, would be shockingly cruel and detrimental to their well-being.

The only effective way to protect these children and prevent the spread of infection is an immediate release from detention. Last month, a federal judge urged the same, calling on the Trump administration to release children to waiting sponsors. Judge Gee cited both the potential harm to children and the public’s interest in preventing outbreaks that can “spread to others in geographic proximity, and likely overwhelm local health care systems.” ICE has demonstrated a pattern of not following court agreements regarding releasing children, and despite an unprecedented pandemic, continues to do so. This week, the New York Times reported that the administration is instead clandestinely deporting children, despite the presence of sponsors who are ready to care for children at home while they go through the immigration court process. Often, deportation means sending children to crowded tent camps or overrun shelters, where they will continue to remain at high risk for the devastating effects of COVID-19, as well as other diseases.

As we collectively combat this pandemic, I’ve witnessed amazing ways in which providers and community members have come together to advocate for evidence-based measures to keep children and communities healthy and safe. We must extend this advocacy to every child in need. Ask your local, state, or national representatives to exercise their jurisdiction over ICE and ORR. Demand policies in the best interest of children, including release from immigration detention facilities and an end to unsanctioned deportation. As we look out for one another, we must not forget the most vulnerable children amongst us. Providing them the care and protection they deserve would protect our health – and our humanity.

Priya Pathak is a pediatrician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Health care workers have a role to play in Black Lives Matter

June 2, 2020 Kevin 1
…
Next

Medical students in solidarity: Black Lives Matter

June 2, 2020 Kevin 3
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease, Pediatrics

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Health care workers have a role to play in Black Lives Matter
Next Post >
Medical students in solidarity: Black Lives Matter

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • How the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for social media training in medical education 

    Oscar Chen, Sera Choi, and Clara Seong
  • Why are so many community hospitals transferring children to larger facilities?

    Christopher Johnson, MD
  • Why this physician marched during a pandemic

    Raj Sundar, MD
  • The first day of medical training during a pandemic

    Elizabeth D. Patton
  • Reimagining medical education from within a pandemic

    Kasey Johnson, DO
  • Pandemic parenting during medical school

    Jessica De Haan, PA-C

More in Policy

  • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

    Holland Haynie, MD
  • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

    Dave Cummings, RN
  • Healing the doctor-patient relationship by attacking administrative inefficiencies

    Allen Fredrickson
  • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

    Trevor Lyford, MPH
  • The CDC’s restructuring: Where is the voice of health care in the room?

    Tarek Khrisat, MD
  • Choosing between care and country: a dual citizen’s Independence Day reflection

    Kathleen Muldoon, PhD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the U.S. mental health care system is failing and how to fix it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The unseen cost of detachment in radiology

      Dr. Yesu Raju | Physician
    • I thought success was a destination. Then I became a doctor.

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails

      Peggy A. Rothbaum, PhD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • How oral health silently affects your heart, brain, and body

      Charles Reinertsen, DMD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the U.S. mental health care system is failing and how to fix it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The unseen cost of detachment in radiology

      Dr. Yesu Raju | Physician
    • I thought success was a destination. Then I became a doctor.

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails

      Peggy A. Rothbaum, PhD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • How oral health silently affects your heart, brain, and body

      Charles Reinertsen, DMD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...