"One group tapped to meet the need is the U.S. Public Health Service, or USPHS: In the past year, nearly 400 officers have done monthlong tours helping to provide basic medical care to detainees at ICE facilities nationwide, according to a USPHS employee who reviewed a roster of staff deployments. The deployed officers include nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and other medical professionals."
""We have been tasked with protecting and promoting health, and instead, we are being asked to facilitate inhumane operations," said Rebekah Stewart, a nurse practitioner who left the service in October. Many Americans have never heard of the USPHS. It's made up of around 5,000 uniformed, non-combatant officers, mostly health professionals, who work day jobs at federal agencies like the Indian Health Service, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
In 2025, rising ICE arrests generated urgent demand for health care providers to staff hastily constructed detention centers. Nearly 400 U.S. Public Health Service officers have completed monthlong tours providing basic medical care at ICE facilities nationwide. Deployed personnel include nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and other clinicians. Officers report life-threatening delays in obtaining medicines and care, chaotic medical screenings, overcrowded facilities, and chronic understaffing. These conditions have driven some medical professionals to resign and caused severe moral distress among others who feel conflicted about continuing such deployments.
Read at www.npr.org
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