Warren, Velázquez Sound Alarm Over Customs and Border Protection's Deficient Medical Directive for Screening and Delivery of Medical Care to Migrants

Statement

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Mark Morgan, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), calling on CBP to strengthen its new Medical Directive, which mandates the agency's requirements for medical screening and delivery of medical care to migrants in CBP custody.

"We, along with other Members of Congress, have repeatedly called on CBP to improve its already deficient and unconscionable approach to medical care for migrants," the lawmakers wrote. "But according to medical professionals, the new policy governing CBP's delivery of medical care 'represents a step in the wrong direction as compared to the Interim Medical Directive' that it replaced, and is 'wholly inadequate to ensure the proper care' of migrants in CBP custody."

In their letter, the lawmakers outlined three major concerns with the Medical Directive, which the CBP issued in December 2019 to direct the agency's "deployment of enhanced medical efforts to mitigate risk to, and improve care for, individuals in CBP custody along the Southwest Border": (1) that the Medical Directive's screening protocol is inadequate, and is inconsistent with recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC); (2) that the directive is weaker than the policy it replaced, including by eliminating a requirement that all children under age 18 receive a health assessment, and by diluting current requirements for what constitutes a health assessment and who can conduct them; and (3) that the Medical Directive lacks crucial requirements for ongoing medical care beyond an initial screening.

"We urge CBP to strengthen its Medical Directive through its implementation plan and we are seeking answers about why you have not elected to instate a stronger Directive that prioritizes migrant health," the lawmakers continued.

The lawmakers urged CBP to remedy the Directive's deficiencies in its implementation plan by addressing the following:

Establishing clear policies for how CBP personnel should handle the provision and management of prescription medications for migrants arriving at the border;
Outlining specific measures for addressing the flu and mitigating the conditions that contribute to the spread of other infectious diseases-including incorporating recommendations made by the HSAC and CDC into its implementation plan;
Including provisions for addressing linguistic and cultural barriers faced by migrants, including guaranteeing language translators and assistance for individuals who may be illiterate;
Adding guidelines for ensuring that the mental health concerns of migrants are appropriately screened and addressed;
Specifying that children detained at the border will receive care from medical personnel with specific pediatric training; and
Setting required timeframes for conducting medical screenings.
The lawmakers also asked CBP to respond to a series of questions about the implementation of its Medical Directive by March 17, 2020.

Source