Reports Show Central American Immigrant Children Show Desperate Need for Healthcare, Mental Health Treatment

A number of reports have surfaced about the diseases plaguing the undocumented children who are migrating into the United States in mass numbers. From drug-resistant tuberculosis to measles, chicken pox and swine flu, undocumented immigrant children are being blamed for what is now coined as a "major public health crisis."

These reports come on the heels of a second case of swine flu, or H1N1, being confirmed by Border Patrol in Texas. About 120 more immigrants are being held in isolation over fears of exposure to the disease. 

According to Action 4 News in Texas, "Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council #3307 Chris Cabrera confirmed the cases late Saturday morning."

Cabrera also told the outlet "that one case was confirmed at the Brownsville Border Patrol Station and another at the Fort Brown Border Patrol station, also located in Brownsville." 

While some health screens for issues like lice, scabies, and chicken pox are taking place among the crowds of undocumented immigrants being held at detention centers, there is a threat of more dangerous medical issues arising among the population.

"There is really no hard stop at the border, and we have no idea health-wise what diseases are coming across," a health official who works in the McAllen border area told TheBlaze. "There's no real medical screening either. Basically if [an illegal immigrant] tells a Border Patrol agent or law enforcement official they feel sick, or if they look sick, then they're checked. If they don't say anything, that's it, they're cleared." 

Unfortunately, many of the undocumented adults and children that have made their way into the United States in recent months are lacking proper health care or medical interventions, such as vaccinations, leaving the threat of a pandemic all too real.

According to a border health care official who spoke to TheBlaze, hospitals in south Texas, where the majority of the undocumented Central American immigrants are arriving, have diagnosed cases of infectious diarrhea, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, scabies, chickenpox, and growing numbers of sexually transmitted diseases.

In response to the public outcries, large amounts of vaccinations are being flown in to holding centers, including 2,000 batches of the H1N1 vaccine for immediate use, but this may not be soon enough to prevent the spread of the disease. 

According to Breitbart, Dr. Jane Orient, "an internal medicine specialist and the Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)," warned that the country was "one outbreak" away from having to deal with "an overwhelming public health crisis" because of the influx of illegal immigrant children coming across the border from Central America. 

A number of private groups have stepped up to provide temporary respite for the immigrants. Enrique Morones of the group Border Angels is one of the more outspoken supporters of the pro-immigration movement. His group has provided blankets, food, and immigration services for the desperately needy population, who often arrive with nothing.

According to an article on Foxnews.com, "Since illegal immigrants who enter the U.S. are not prescreened in any way, many carry disease. The Border Patrol and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have set up temporary holding centers in southern Texas and Arizona, where conditions are cramped and unsanitary."

The article also states that ten to 25% of the immigrants in that area are suffering from scabies, a highly contagious intensely itchy rash caused by insect mites. 

Another report from Fox News states that medical staff have been warned of the consequences of speaking out about concerns.

A mental health counselor spoke anonymously in the article, stating that " children in the camp had measles, scabies, chicken pox and strep throat as well as mental and emotional issues."

"It was not a good atmosphere in terms of health," she said. "I would be talking to children and lice would just be climbing down their hair."

Protesters in Murietta, California cited the fear of disease as one of the main reasons for their protests, in which buses full of immigrant were blocked, being forced to turn around and head to other Border Patrol stations in southern California. 

Murietta Mayor Alan Long urged residents to protest the buses full of immigrants, who were being shuttled to California from overcrowded holding centers in Texas to expedite processing. 

"These people are fleeing a less desirable area -- we all understand that, we're compassionate for that, but those are concerns," Long told Fox News. "We've asked a lot of questions, we wanted to make sure no stone went unturned so that we had certainty on what exactly we were getting."

"And when you start asking about the health screening that they claim they get -- there's a lot of gaps," continued Mayor Long.

"They could not answer a lot of questions we had to give us certainty that the people on those buses were healthy."