Immigration Article of the Day: Emergency Medical Responses at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Centers in California by Annette M. Dekker, Jennifer Farah, Parveen Parmar, Atilla B. Uner, and David L. Schriger

The Immigration Article of the Day is “Emergency Medical Responses at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Centers in California” by Annette M. Dekker, Jennifer Farah, Parveen Parmar, Atilla B. Uner, and David L. Schriger.

The article was published on November 29, 2023 in JAMA and is available here.

The key points of this study are:

Question: What were the characteristics of medical emergencies at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers in California from 2018 to 2022?

Findings: In this cross-sectional analysis of 3 detention centers, emergency medical services reported a median of 68 emergencies per center per year for a total of 1224 medical emergencies. The median number of monthly emergency medical services–reported emergencies across all 3 centers was 3, while that of monthly ICE-reported emergencies was 4.

Meaning: These findings suggest a need for an increased understanding of how medical emergencies are managed at ICE detention centers to ensure that the health care system meets the needs of detained individuals.

The research was also covered in the Los Angeles Times.

IE