July 20, 2021

A report from the DHS Office of Inspector-General found that “CBP needs better oversight and policy” to attend to migrants experiencing medical emergencies or illnesses while in the agency’s custody (original link).

Though the agency had created new policies and expanding contracts of medical personnel at its facilities, “CBP could not always demonstrate staff conducted required medical screenings or consistent welfare checks for all 98 individuals whose medical cases we reviewed.” CBP agents and officers, the report found, were not adequately trained to identify medical attention needs.

A September 14, 2021 Inspector General report on the May 2019 in-custody death of a Guatemalan teenager found that Border Patrol agents had faked log entries of welfare checks that were not performed (original link).

CBP Needs to Strengthen Its Oversight and Policy to Better Care for Migrants Needing Medical Attention, Report OIG-21-48 (Washington: DHS Office of Inspector General, July 20, 2021) https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2021-07/OIG-21-48-Jul21.pdf.

Sector(s): Border-Wide

Agency(ies): CBP

Event Type(s): Denial of Medical Care

Accountability Status: DHS OIG investigation Closed

Victim Classification: Medical Condition