New study finds longer immigration detention linked to worse health outcomes in U.S.

SACRAMENTO, the United States, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A new study has recently laid bare the alarming health consequences of prolonged immigration detention in the United States.

The study, published Thursday on the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, reveals that immigrants held in U.S. detention facilities for six months or longer suffer markedly higher rates of poor health and mental illness compared to those detained for shorter periods.

The study offers a stark warning about the potential harm of extended confinement.

In examining 200 immigrants recently released from detention, the study found that those who had been held for six months or more were about 19 percent more likely to report poor or fair health than individuals with shorter stays.

"Our study provides evidence that poor self-reported health, mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were highly prevalent among all recently detained individuals," said lead researcher Altaf Saadi of Massachusetts General Hospital. "But detention lasting six months or longer was associated with even higher rates."

The findings are especially troubling: Among detainees held for over six months, nearly half -- 49.1 percent -- reported poor or fair health, compared to 30.4 percent of those held for under six months. Mental illness afflicted 37 percent of long-term detainees versus 20.7 percent of those detained for shorter durations. Rates of PTSD were particularly disturbing, with 59.3 percent of those in extended detention reporting symptoms, compared to 34.8 percent in the shorter-term group.

"Length of custody is one mechanism by which immigration detention might be a catalyst for worsening health," the authors wrote, pointing to the current practice of indefinite detention without systematic release mechanisms as a likely driver of these adverse outcomes.