“A detainee’s health care begins the moment they walk through the facility’s doors,” said Dr. Jon Krohmer, assistant director for ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC). “Within the first 12 hours of their admission, all detainees undergo a preliminary health screening, which includes an evaluation of the individual’s medical, dental and mental health status; and within the next 14 days, a more detailed physical examination takes place.”
The Karnes County Civil Detention Center near San Antonio, Texas, is more like a recreational facility for illegal immigrants than a prison, Republicans complain.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency is touting the “quality” medical care it provides for 15,000 illegal aliens who are housed at 21 detention facilities throughout the nation.
“A detainee’s health care begins the moment they walk through the facility’s doors,” said Dr. Jon Krohmer, assistant director for ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC). “Within the first 12 hours of their admission, all detainees undergo a preliminary health screening, which includes an evaluation of the individual’s medical, dental and mental health status; and within the next 14 days, a more detailed physical examination takes place.”
Because so many detainees haven’t had access to health care in the past, it’s “not unusual” for serious health problems to be diagnosed at these screenings: “We’re finding out about health issues that even they didn’t even know about and in most cases are able to begin treatment,” Kromer said.
ICE says the medical care it gives to illegal aliens “not only lasts during the individual’s period of detention, but also throughout their removal to their country of origin.” And before any detainee boards a plane to be removed from the United States, they must first undergo an evaluation to make sure they are fit to fly, ICE said in an April 3 news release.
The ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) — which falls under the ICE’s Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations — consists of more than 900 U.S. Public Health Service commissioned officers, federal civil servants and contract support staff.
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