In 2025, as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) faced a surge in immigrant arrests, the demand for healthcare providers to staff hastily constructed detention centers skyrocketed. The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) was tasked with meeting this need, deploying nearly 400 officers, including nurses, doctors, and pharmacists, to provide basic medical care to detainees across ICE facilities nationwide. However, this deployment has sparked a moral dilemma among USPHS officers, leading to a significant number of resignations.
The USPHS, comprising around 5,000 non-combatant officers, mostly health professionals, works day jobs at federal agencies like the Indian Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are known for their deployment to humanitarian crises, but their recent assignments to ICE facilities have raised ethical concerns.
The issue stems from life-threatening delays in providing medicine and care to detainees, chaotic screenings, and overcrowded yet understaffed conditions. Some medical professionals have quit, citing the inhumane nature of the operations. Rebekah Stewart, a nurse practitioner, resigned in October, stating that she was asked to facilitate inhumane practices, contradicting the USPHS's mission to protect and promote health.
The ICE's own standards emphasize the non-punitive nature of detention and detainees' right to appropriate medical care. However, media reports, human rights groups, and Senate investigations have exposed widespread abuses and inhumane conditions, including overcrowding and insufficient healthcare. The year 2025 was particularly deadly for detainees, with 32 people dying in ICE custody.
USPHS officers, including those deployed to the Southwest border after migrant children's deaths, felt conflicted, witnessing conditions that contradicted their professional values. Some resigned, unable to support mass deportations, while others left after deployments, frustrated by delays and distrust from detention center staff.
The morale crisis within the USPHS is evident, with officers questioning the ethical implications of their assignments. As a result, the agency faces a significant loss of talent, with around 340 officers leaving in the past year. This exodus raises concerns about the quality of care for detainees and the long-term impact on the nation's ability to respond to public health crises.
