Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Asked To Immediately Require Inspections Of Border Detention Facilities After Reports Of Inhumane Treatment
The Wall Street Journal: Lawsuit Alleges Government Mistreatment Of Migrant Children
Immigrant rights attorneys filed suit against the Trump administration, claiming that the federal government is holding children in unhealthy and unsafe conditions along the southwest border in violation of a settlement dictating the detention of minors. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, asked for an emergency injunction allowing immediate inspections by a public health expert of all Customs and Border Protection facilities in Texas’ El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors. The suit also sought access for medical professionals to these facilities. (Lazo and Gershman, 6/27)
The Associated Press: Doctors, Lawyers Portray Dire Conditions For Child Migrants
Immigrant advocates are asking a federal judge to immediately require inspections and let doctors into border detention facilities where they say sleep-deprived, flu-stricken children are languishing in filthy conditions. Doctors and lawyers who visited the facilities in recent weeks outlined several damning examples in a court filing late Wednesday that puts more pressure on the Trump administration to improve conditions for immigrant children. Lawyers are also asking for the prompt release of children to parents and close relatives and for the government to be found in contempt of court. (Attanasio and Taxin, 6/27)
Los Angeles Times: Lawsuit Accuses U.S. Government Of Holding Migrant Children In ‘Deplorable’ Conditions
The temporary restraining order “further demands immediate, unfettered access of medical experts to the facilities, to evaluate and treat the children,” according to the statement. The motion, which cites detention facilities in the Border Patrol’s El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors, also asks the court to hold the U.S. government in contempt for failing to comply with basic child welfare standards. Those standards were agreed upon in a 1997 court settlement known as the Flores agreement, which set legal requirements for the housing of children seeking asylum or in the country illegally. (Carcamo, 6/26)
