Medical Care or Deportation: Examining Interior Border Checkpoints and Access to Higher-Level Medical Care for Undocumented Immigrants in South Texas.

Blackburn, Christine Crudo; Rico, Mayra; Hernandez, Jessica; Lee, Miryoung

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2024.307927

EMS systems & operations

Medical Care or Deportation: Examining Interior Border Checkpoints and Access to Higher-Level Medical Care for Undocumented Immigrants in South Texas.

Christine Crudo Blackburn, Mayra Rico, Jessica Hernandez, Miryoung Lee

American journal of public health · 2025-01-23 · Qualitative study

Read at publisher · PubMed

Abstract

We examined the impacts of interior border checkpoints on access to higher-level medical care via ground ambulance for undocumented immigrants in South Texas. Using purposive sampling, we conducted interviews (n = 30) with ground ambulance personnel in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Procedures implemented in 2018 mandate that hospitals notify Border Patrol of a patient's legal status before transfer. Undocumented immigrants cannot access higher-level medical care through ground ambulance transport without notifying Border Patrol. (Am J Public Health. 2025;115(3):292-295. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307927).

Medical Care or Deportation: Examining Interior Border Checkpoints and Access to Higher-Level Medical Care for Undocumented Immigrants in South Texas.

Abstract

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