Oversight Democrats Request GAO Conduct Review of Medically Necessary Procedures for ICE, CBP Detainees

Washington, D.C. (May 10, 2024)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Vice Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, sent a  letter to Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Gene L. Dodaro, urging him to undertake a review of emergency medical procedures and major surgeries performed on people held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.

“Specifically, we request that GAO review the process for detainees receiving approval for major surgery and emergency medical care, including how major medical care is authorized and approved, whether people can access surgery and emergency services when experiencing an acute medical issue, and whether people give informed consent before undergoing major medical procedures, including emergency surgeries,” wrote the Members.

In their letter, the Committee members cite concerning incidents that point to a lack of appropriate medical care for ICE and CBP detainees.  Federal inspectors have found dangerously inadequate medical care for pregnant  detainees and other people with serious medical conditions, and in August 2023, an 8-year-old child in South Texas died while under the supervision of a CBP medical contractor.

In September 2020, Oversight and Homeland Committee Democrats launched an investigation into conditions within the Irwin County Detention Center.  A whistleblower alleged that women detained in the facility were sent to an outside medical provider to undergo gynecological procedures, including but not limited to hysterectomies, without appropriate informed consent.

In 2022, a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report  found that female ICE detainees at Irwin County Detention Center, “appear to have been subjected to excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary gynecological procedures” and “there appears to have been repeated failures to secure informed consent for off-site medical procedures performed on [ICE] detainees.”

Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General issued a report  entitled “ICE Major Surgeries Were Not Always Properly Reviewed and Approved for Medical Necessity.”  The Inspector General’s nearly four-year review was unable to conclusively determine whether detainees are experiencing medically unnecessary surgeries, including hysterectomies and other procedures that may have minimally invasive alternatives.  The study also did not evaluate whether patients received informed consent prior to the surgery.

Click  here  to read the letter.

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