Health of Immigrant Children in CBP Custody Compromised: AILA Files Complaint
Time and time again, poor medical conditions have compromised the health of immigrant children in Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) custody, says the American Immigration Lawyers Association in a complaint AILA filed in September against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the DHS Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) recommended that CBP vaccinate migrants in detention including children receive flu shots, but CBP declined. In the 2018-2019 flu season, influenza spread through migrant detention facilities and at least three children died of the flu while in CBP custody, reports CNN:
Last week, CNN reported a group of physicians volunteered to vaccinate migrants against the flu for free. “We haven’t responded, but it’s not likely to happen,” a CBP official told CNN.
Protecting The Health of Immigrant Children
The CDC recommends that people in the United States age 6 months and older receive a flu vaccination as protection against potentially severe illness. In the 2018-2019 flu season, nearly 63% of children under the age of 18 received the flu vaccine, and just more than 45% of adults received the vaccine.
The
Washington Post reports that a “new report from the Brookings Institution warns that risk factors such as lackluster sanitation, overcrowding, and poor nutrition are creating a “perfect storm” of conditions in CBP detention facilities that could lead to severe outbreaks of the flu and other communicable diseases; and recommends vaccinating detained migrants as a way of limiting outbreaks.’
Mario Godoy and the other experienced immigration attorneys at the Godoy Law Office can assess your situation and application status. With experience in many different types of immigration cases and understanding of the impact of new immigration regulations, it can be beneficial for you to contact an immigration lawyer today. Please call us at 855-554-6369.
