{"id":2152366,"date":"2026-02-09T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=2152366"},"modified":"2026-02-10T13:20:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T18:20:26","slug":"us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Rebekah Stewart, a nurse at the U.S. Public Health Service, got a call last April that brought her to tears. She had been selected for deployment to the Trump administration\u2019s new immigration detention operation at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"block--sidebar alignright \">\n\t\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kaiser-health-news-partner block--partner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"partner__image--link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/public-health-workers-are-quitting-over-assignments-to-guantanamo\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"partner__image\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/logo-wired-134.jpg?w=120\" alt=\"Partner logo\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"partner__content\">\n\t\tThis story also ran on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/public-health-workers-are-quitting-over-assignments-to-guantanamo\/\">Wired<\/a>. It can be <a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/view\/republish\/\">republished for free<\/a>.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>This posting combined Donald Trump\u2019s longtime passion to use the offshore base to move \u201csome bad dudes\u201d out of the United States with a promise made shortly after his inauguration last year to hold thousands of noncitizens there. The naval base is known for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2022\/01\/guantanamo-bay-ugly-chapter-unrelenting-human-rights-violations-un-experts\">torture<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/scc-csc.lexum.com\/scc-csc\/scc-csc\/en\/item\/7842\/index.do\">inhumane<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/int.nyt.com\/data\/documenttools\/ruling-in-u-s-s\/63627427c1a86144\/full.pdf\">treatment<\/a> of men suspected of terrorism in the wake of 9\/11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDeployments are typically not something you can say no to,\u201d Stewart said. She pleaded with the coordinating office, which found another nurse to go in her place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other public health officers who worked at Guant\u00e1namo in the past year described conditions there for the detainees, some of whom learned they were in Cuba from the nurses and doctors sent to care for them. They treated immigrants detained in a dark prison called Camp 6, where no sunlight filters in, said the officers, whom KFF Health News agreed not to name because they fear retaliation for speaking publicly. It previously held people with suspected ties to al-Qaida. The officers said they were not briefed ahead of time on the details of their potential duties at the base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the Public Health Service is not a branch of the U.S. armed forces, its uniformed officers \u2014 roughly 5,000 doctors, nurses, and other health workers \u2014 act like stethoscope-wearing soldiers in emergencies. The government deploys them during hurricanes, wildfires, mass shootings, and measles outbreaks. In the interim, they fill gaps at an alphabet soup of government agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump administration\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/deportationdata.org\/analysis\/immigration-enforcement-first-nine-months-trump.html\">mass arrests<\/a><a><\/a><a><\/a> to curb immigration have created a new type of health emergency as the number of people detained reaches <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org\/blog\/ice-expanding-detention-system\/\">record highs<\/a><a><\/a><a><\/a>. About 71,000 immigrants are currently imprisoned, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/detain\/detention-management\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement data<\/a>, which shows that most have no criminal record.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"datawrapper-embed block--datawrapper-embed alignwide\">\n\t<iframe\n\t\taria-label=\"Interactive DataWrapper Embed\"\n\t\tframeborder=\"0\"\n\t\theight=\"578\"\n\t\tid=\"datawrapper-chart-OgUaL\"\n\t\tscrolling=\"no\"\n\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/OgUaL\"\n\t\tstyle=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\"\n\t\ttitle=\"A Growing Number of Immigrants Arrested by ICE Have Not Been Convicted of Crimes\"\n\t>\n\t<\/iframe>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" className=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/OgUaL\/full.png\" alt=\"A Growing Number of Immigrants Arrested by ICE Have Not Been Convicted of Crimes\" \/>\n<\/div>\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\twindow.addEventListener('message', function(event) {\n\t\tif (typeof event.data['datawrapper-height'] !== 'undefined') {\n\t\t\tvar iframes = document.querySelectorAll('iframe');\n\t\t\tfor (var chartId in event.data['datawrapper-height']) {\n\t\t\t\tfor (var i=0; i<iframes.length; i++) {\n\t\t\t\t\tif (iframes[i].contentWindow === event.source) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tiframes[i].style.height = event.data['datawrapper-height'][chartId] + 'px';\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t});\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said: \u201cPresident Donald Trump has been very clear: Guantanamo Bay will hold the worst of the worst.\u201d However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/venezuelan-deportees-trump-immigration-asylum-el-salvador\">several news organizations<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/02\/21\/nx-s1-5304450\/more-than-170-migrants-held-at-guantanamo-flown-back-to-venezuela#:~:text=Transcript-,Nearly%20all%20the%20migrants%20held%20at%20Guant%C3%A1namo%20%E2%80%94%20177%20Venezuelans%20%E2%80%94%20have,their%20home%20country%20of%20Venezuela\">have reported<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/02\/21\/nx-s1-5304450\/more-than-170-migrants-held-at-guantanamo-flown-back-to-venezuela#:~:text=Transcript-,Nearly%20all%20the%20migrants%20held%20at%20Guant%C3%A1namo%20%E2%80%94%20177%20Venezuelans%20%E2%80%94%20have,their%20home%20country%20of%20Venezuela.\"><\/a>many of the men shipped to the base had no criminal convictions. As many as 90% of them were described as \u201clow-risk\u201d in a <a href=\"https:\/\/americanoversight.org\/featureddocument\/ice-communications-and-records-regarding-migrant-detention-at-guantanamo-bay\/\">May progress report<\/a> from ICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fits and starts, the Trump administration has sent about 780 noncitizens to Guant\u00e1namo Bay, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/28\/us\/politics\/cubans-gitmo-deportations.html\">according to<\/a> The New York Times. Numbers fluctuate as new detainees arrive and others are returned to the U.S. or deported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some Public Health Service officers have provided medical care to detained immigrants in the past, this is the first time in American history that Guant\u00e1namo has been used to house immigrants who had been living in the U.S. Officers said ICE postings are getting more common. After dodging Guant\u00e1namo, Stewart was instructed to report to an ICE detention center in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPublic health officers are being asked to facilitate a man-made humanitarian crisis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seeing no option to refuse deployments that she found objectionable, Stewart resigned after a decade of service. She would give up the prospect of a pension offered after 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was my dream job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of her PHS colleagues, nurse Dena Bushman, grappled with a similar moral dilemma when she got a notice to report to Guant\u00e1namo a few weeks after the shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August. Bushman, who was posted with the CDC, got a medical waiver delaying her deployment on account of stress and grief. She considered resigning, then did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis may sound extreme,\u201d Bushman said. \u201cBut when I was making this decision, I couldn\u2019t help but think about how the people who fed those imprisoned in concentration camps were still part of the Nazi regime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3100\" height=\"2066\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg\" alt=\"A photo with motion blur showing a gurney being pushed by medics in camo uniforms.\" class=\"wp-image-2152765\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg 3100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=500,333 500w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=1270,846 1270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=770,513 770w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=840,560 840w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=720,480 720w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=570,380 570w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=370,247 370w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=170,113 170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=100,67 100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=120,80 120w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=1170,780 1170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=200,134 200w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=315,210 315w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=630,420 630w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_02-resize.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3100px) 100vw, 3100px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Medics practice evacuating a detained immigrant in a simulated exercise at Guant\u00e1namo in April.<span class=\"photo-credit\">(Aubree Owens\/U.S. Air Force)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Others have resigned, but many officers remain. While they are alarmed by Trump\u2019s tactics, detained people need care, multiple PHS officers told KFF Health News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe do the best we can to provide care to people in this shit show,\u201d said a PHS nurse who worked in detention facilities last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI respect people and treat them like humans,\u201d she said. \u201cI try to be a light in the darkness, the one person that makes someone smile in this horrible mess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The PHS officers conceded that their power to protect people was limited in a detention system fraught with overcrowding, disorganization, and the psychological trauma of uncertainty, family separations, and sleep deprivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEnsuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE,\u201d said Tricia McLaughlin, chief spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, in an emailed statement to KFF Health News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adm. Brian Christine, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Public Health Service, said in an email: \u201cOur duty is clear: say \u201cYes Sir!\u201d, salute smartly, and execute the mission: show up, provide humane care, and protect health.\u201d Christine is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/rfk-jrs-health-department-is-pondering-a-national-mens-health-initiative\/\">recent appointee<\/a> who, until recently, was a urologist specializing in testosterone and male fertility issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn pursuit of subjective morality or public displays of virtue,\u201d he added, \u201cwe risk abandoning the very individuals we pledged to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div\n\tclass=\"wp-block block--newsletter  \"\n\tdata-type=\"kaiser-health-news\/newsletter\"\n\tdata-align=\"center\"\n\tstyle=\"\"\n>\n\t<h4 class=\"newsletter__title\">\n\t\t<a href=\"\/email\/\">\n\t\t\tEmail Sign-Up\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/h4>\n\t<p class=\"newsletter__description\">\n\t\tSubscribe to KFF Health News&#039; free weekly newsletter, &quot;The Week in Brief.&quot;\t<\/p>\n\t\n<form\n\taction=\"\/email-signup\/\"\n\tclass=\"kaiser-hubspot-mini-signup-form\"\n\tmethod=\"post\"\n>\n\t<input type=\"hidden\" id=\"kaiser_hubspot_nonce\" name=\"kaiser_hubspot_nonce\" value=\"dc9818bd64\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2152366\" \/>\t\t\t\t<label\n\t\tclass=\"kaiser-hubspot-mini-signup-form__label--email\"\n\t\tfor=\"kaiser-hubspot-mini-signup-form-email\"\n\t>\n\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\n\t\t\tYour Email Address\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<input\n\t\t\tautocomplete=\"email\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"kaiser-hubspot-mini-signup-form__input--email\"\n\t\t\tid=\"kaiser-hubspot-mini-signup-form-email\"\n\t\t\tname=\"kaiser_hubspot_email\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"email\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tplaceholder=\"Your email address\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\/>\n\t<\/label>\n\t<button class=\"kaiser-hubspot-mini-signup-form__submit\">\n\t\tSign Up\t<\/button>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Into the Unknown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the months before Stewart resigned, she reflected on her previous deployments, during Trump\u2019s first term, to immigration processing centers run by Customs and Border Protection. Fifty women were held in a single concrete cell in Texas, she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe most impactful thing I could do was to convince the guards to allow the women, who had been in there for a week, to shower,\u201d she said. \u201cI witnessed suffering without having much ability to address it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stewart spoke with Bushman and other PHS officers who were embedded at the CDC last year. They assisted with the agency\u2019s response to ongoing measles outbreaks, with sexually transmitted infection research, and more. Their roles became crucial last year as the Trump administration laid off droves of CDC staffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stewart, Bushman, and a few other PHS officers at the CDC said they met with middle managers to ask for details about the deployments: If they went to Guant\u00e1namo and ICE facilities, how much power would they have to provide what they considered medically necessary care? If they saw anything unethical, how could they report it? Would it be investigated? Would they be protected from reprisal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stewart and Bushman said they were given a PHS office phone number they could call if they had a complaint while on assignment. Otherwise, they said, their questions went unanswered. They resigned and so never went to Guant\u00e1namo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PHS officers who were deployed to the base told KFF Health News they weren\u2019t given details about their potential duties \u2014 or the standard operating procedure for medical care \u2014 before they arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen Xenakis, a retired Army general and a psychiatrist who has advised on medical care at Guant\u00e1namo for two decades, said that was troubling. Before health workers deploy, he said, they should understand what they\u2019ll be expected to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The consequences of insufficient preparation can be severe. In 2014, the Navy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/americas\/guantanamo\/article1981196.html\">threatened to<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/americas\/guantanamo\/article20817624.html\">court-martial<\/a> one of its nurses at Guant\u00e1namo who refused to force-feed prisoners on hunger strike, who were protesting inhumane treatment and indefinite detention. The protocol <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/04\/15\/opinion\/hunger-striking-at-guantanamo-bay.html\">was brutal<\/a>: A person was shackled to a five-point restraint chair as nurses shoved a tube for liquid food into their stomach through their nostrils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe wasn\u2019t given clear guidance in advance on how these procedures would be conducted at Guant\u00e1namo,\u201d Xenakis said of the nurse. \u201cUntil he saw it, he didn\u2019t understand how painful it was for detainees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3100\" height=\"2067\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg\" alt=\"A military vehicle with a red cross symbol painted on it approaches three military members. A barbed-wire fence is behind them.\" class=\"wp-image-2152766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg 3100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=500,333 500w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=1270,847 1270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=770,513 770w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=840,560 840w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=720,480 720w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=570,380 570w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=370,247 370w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=170,113 170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=100,67 100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=120,80 120w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=1170,780 1170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=200,134 200w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=315,210 315w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=630,420 630w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_03-resize.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3100px) 100vw, 3100px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. service members stand by during an April simulated medical evacuation of immigrants detained at Guant\u00e1namo.<span class=\"photo-credit\">(Aubree Owens\/U.S. Air Force)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The American Nurses Association and Physicians for Human Rights sided with the nurse, saying his objection was <a href=\"https:\/\/phr.org\/news\/guantnamo-navy-nurse-who-refused-to-force-feed-detainees-to-receive-ethics-award\/\">guided by professional ethics<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/phr.org\/news\/guantnamo-navy-nurse-who-refused-to-force-feed-detainees-to-receive-ethics-award\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/phr.org\/news\/guantnamo-navy-nurse-who-refused-to-force-feed-detainees-to-receive-ethics-award\/\"><\/a>After a year, the military dropped the charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A uniformed doctor or nurse\u2019s power tends to depend on their rank, their supervisor, and chains of command, Xenakis said. He helped put an end to some inhumane practices at Guant\u00e1namo more than a decade ago, when he and other retired generals and admirals <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/PHR_other\/Stephen_Xenakis_Testimony_7.24.13.pdf\">publicly objected<\/a> to certain interrogation techniques, such <a href=\"https:\/\/www.columbia.edu\/cu\/libraries\/inside\/ccoh_assets\/ccoh_10540319_transcript.pdf\">as one called \u201cwalling,\u201d<\/a> in which interrogators slammed the heads of detainees suspected of terrorism against a wall, causing slight concussions. Xenakis argued that science didn\u2019t support \u201cwalling\u201d as an effective means of interrogation, and that it was unethical, amounting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intelligence.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/sites-default-files-documents-crpt-113srpt288.pdf\">torture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Torture hasn\u2019t been reported from Guant\u00e1namo\u2019s immigration operation, but <a href=\"https:\/\/americanoversight.org\/featureddocument\/ice-communications-and-records-regarding-migrant-detention-at-guantanamo-bay\/\">ICE shift reports<\/a><a><\/a><a><\/a> obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the government watchdog group American Oversight note concerns about detainees resorting to hunger strikes and self-harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWelfare checks with potential hunger strike IA\u2019s,\u201d short for illegal aliens, says an April 30 note from a contractor working with ICE. \u201cIn case of a hunger strike or other emergencies,\u201d the report adds, the PHS and ICE are \u201ccoordinating policies and procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDe-escalation of potential pod wide hunger strike\/potential riot,\u201d says an entry from July 8. \u201cSpeak with alien on suicide watch regarding well being.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rfkhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Cortes-De-La-Valle-Daniel_FTCA_Redacted.pdf\">Inmates<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/ice-detention-center-911-emergencies\/\">investigations<\/a> have reported delayed medical care at immigration detention facilities and dangerous conditions, including overcrowding and a lack of sanitation. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody in 2025, making it the deadliest year in two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey are arresting and detaining more people than their facilities can support,\u201d one PHS officer told KFF Health News. The most prevalent problem the officer saw among imprisoned immigrants was psychological. They worried about never seeing their families again or being sent back to a country where they feared they\u2019d be killed. \u201cPeople are scared out of their minds,\u201d the officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>No Sunlight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The PHS officers who were at Guant\u00e1namo told KFF Health News that the men they saw were detained in either low-security barracks, with a handful of people per room, or in Camp 6, a dark, high-security facility without natural light. The ICE shift reports describe the two stations by their position on the island, Leeward for the barracks and Windward for Camp 6. About 50 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/28\/us\/politics\/cubans-gitmo-deportations.html\">Cuban men<\/a> sent to Guant\u00e1namo in December and January have languished at Camp 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Navy hospital on the base mainly serves the military and other residents who aren\u2019t locked up \u2014 and in any case, its capabilities are limited, the officers said. To reduce the chance of expensive medical evacuations back to the U.S. to see specialists quickly, they said, the immigrants were screened before being shipped to Guant\u00e1namo. People over age 60 or who needed daily drugs to manage diabetes and high blood pressure, for example, were generally excluded. Still, the officers said, some detainees have had to be evacuated back to Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PHS nurses and doctors said they screened immigrants again when they arrived and provided ongoing care, fielding complaints including about gastrointestinal distress and depression. One ICE monthly progress report says, \u201cThe USPHS psychologist started an exercise group\u201d for detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors\u2019 requests for lab work were often turned down because of logistical hurdles, partly due to the number of agencies working together on the base, the officers said. Even a routine test, a complete blood count, took weeks to process, versus hours in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DHS and the Department of Defense, which have coordinated on the Guant\u00e1namo immigration operation, did not respond to requests for comment about their work there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One PHS officer who helped medically screen new detainees said they were often surprised to learn they were at Guant\u00e1namo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d tell them, \u2018I\u2019m sorry you are here,\u2019\u201d the officer said. \u201cNo one freaked out. It was like the ten-millionth time they had been transferred.\u201d Some of the men had been detained in various facilities for five or six months and said they wanted to return to their home countries, according to the officer. Health workers had neither an answer nor a fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike ICE detention facilities in the U.S., Guant\u00e1namo hasn\u2019t been overcrowded. \u201cI have never been so not busy at work,\u201d one officer said. A military base on a tropical island, Guant\u00e1namo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navymwrguantanamobay.com\/events\">offers activities<\/a> such as snorkeling, paddleboard yoga, and kickboxing to those who aren\u2019t imprisoned. Even so, the officer said they would rather be home than on this assignment on the taxpayer\u2019s dime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3100\" height=\"2067\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg\" alt=\"An exterior view of Camp 6. A guard tower is seen with barbed-wire fences. A man in military uniform is seen walking in the foreground.\" class=\"wp-image-2152767\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg 3100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=500,333 500w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=1270,847 1270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=770,513 770w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=840,560 840w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=720,480 720w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=570,380 570w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=370,247 370w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=170,113 170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=100,67 100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=120,80 120w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=1170,780 1170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=200,134 200w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=315,210 315w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=630,420 630w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-171514271-resized.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3100px) 100vw, 3100px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An officer walks away from Camp 6 at Guant\u00e1namo in 2013. People accused of terrorism after the 9\/11 attacks were held there. Now, for the first time, the government is using the facility and others on the naval base to imprison immigrants who had been living in the United States.<span class=\"photo-credit\">(Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Transporting staff and supplies to the island and maintaining them on-base is enormously expensive. The government paid an estimated $16,500 per day, per detainee at Guant\u00e1namo, to hold those accused of terrorism, according to a 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/immigration\/2025\/03\/14\/trump-guantanamo-migrants-\/\">Washington Post analysis<\/a> of DOD data. (The average cost to detain immigrants in ICE facilities in the U.S. is $157 a day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even so, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/federal_account\/070-0540\">funding has skyrocketed<\/a>: Congress granted ICE a record $78 billion for fiscal year 2026, a staggering increase from $9.9 billion in 2024 and $6.5 billion nearly a decade ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year, the Trump administration also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/cost_report_on_diverting_military_resources_for_immigration_enforcement.pdf\">diverted more than $2 billion<\/a> from the national defense budget to immigration operations, according to a report from congressional Democrats. About $60 million of it went to Guant\u00e1namo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDetaining noncitizens at Guantanamo is far more costly and logistically burdensome than holding them in ICE detention facilities within the United States,\u201d wrote Deborah Fleischaker, a former assistant director at ICE, in <a href=\"https:\/\/ccrjustice.org\/sites\/default\/files\/attach\/2025\/03\/2025.03.01.0002-14%20Declaration%20Deborah%20Fleischaker.pdf\">a declaration<\/a> submitted as part of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union early last year. In December, a federal judge rejected the Trump administration\u2019s request to dismiss a separate ACLU case questioning the legality of detaining immigrants outside the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anne Schuchat, who served with the PHS for 30 years before retiring in 2018, said PHS deployments to detention centers may cost the nation in terms of security, too. \u201cA key concern has always been to have enough of these officers available for public health emergencies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson, said the immigration deployments don\u2019t affect the public health service\u2019s potential response to other emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past, PHS officers have stood up medical shelters during hurricanes in Louisiana and Texas, rolled out covid testing in the earliest months of the pandemic, and provided crisis support after the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the Boston Marathon bombing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important for the public to be aware of how many government resources are being used so that the current administration can carry out this one agenda,\u201d said Stewart, one of the nurses who resigned. \u201cThis one thing that\u2019s probably turning us into the types of countries we have fought wars against.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guant\u00e1namo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2152764,"template":"","meta":{"_cr_original_post":"","_cr_replace_post_id":"","_cr_replacing_post_id":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"kff_featured_video":0,"kff_show_featured_video":false,"kff_show_mute_audio_button":false,"custom_shortlink":"\/MjE1MjM2Ng","kaiser_health_news_byline_override":"","kaiser_health_news_can_republish":true,"kaiser_health_news_featured_image_caption":"","kaiser_health_news_header_overlay_color":"","kaiser_health_news_header_theme_slug":"","kaiser_health_news_hero_image":0,"kaiser_health_news_backdrop_padding":115,"kaiser_health_news_hide_partner":false,"kaiser_health_news_kicker":"","kaiser_health_news_kicker_background_color":"","kaiser_health_news_kicker_text_color":"","kaiser_health_news_kicker_url":"","kaiser_health_news_nav_theme_slug":"compact","kaiser_health_news_nav_transparency":false,"kaiser_health_news_sharing_title":"","kaiser_health_news_show_featured_image":true,"kaiser_health_news_subheadline":"","kaiser_health_news_suppress_kicker":false,"kaiser_health_news_suppress_subheadline":false,"kaiser_health_news_update_time":"","kaiser_health_news_vertical_image":0,"kaiser_health_news_title_align_left":false,"kaiser_health_news_custom_header_image":0,"photo_byline":[],"story_update":"","update_position":"bottom","kaiser_syndication_sites":[],"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-02-09T10:12:22Z","apple_news_api_id":"0cadebd2-9ff9-47fe-8f14-ebec40c56d96","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-02-10T18:20:33Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ADK3r0p_5R_6PFOvsQMVtlg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28006,439528530,36835],"tags":[303404686,59350,22627,439524098,1575,439524171],"primary-topic":[],"partners":[439524365],"funder":[439528750],"coauthors":[439529406],"class_list":["post-2152366","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-health","category-southern-bureau","category-syndicate","tag-immigrants","tag-louisiana","tag-massachusetts","tag-military-health","tag-texas","tag-trump-administration","partners-wired","funder-robert-wood-johnson-foundation"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo - KFF Health News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guant\u00e1namo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo - KFF Health News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guant\u00e1namo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KFF Health News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T18:20:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2067\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/\",\"name\":\"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo - KFF Health News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T10:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-10T18:20:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guant\u00e1namo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg\",\"width\":3100,\"height\":2067,\"caption\":\"Officers from the U.S. Public Health Service attend a training on medical evacuation for immigrants detained at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, Cuba, on April 3.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/\",\"name\":\"KFF Health News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo - KFF Health News","description":"U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guant\u00e1namo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo - KFF Health News","og_description":"U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guant\u00e1namo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.","og_url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/","og_site_name":"KFF Health News","article_modified_time":"2026-02-10T18:20:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3100,"height":2067,"url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/","url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/","name":"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo - KFF Health News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-09T10:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-10T18:20:26+00:00","description":"U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guant\u00e1namo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/USPHS_01-resize.jpg","width":3100,"height":2067,"caption":"Officers from the U.S. Public Health Service attend a training on medical evacuation for immigrants detained at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, Cuba, on April 3."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/us-public-health-service-resignations-guantanamo-immigration-detention\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guant\u00e1namo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/","name":"KFF Health News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"authors":[{"name":"Amy Maxmen","link":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/author\/amy-maxmen\/","id":"1736804"}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2152366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2152366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2153391,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2152366\/revisions\/2153391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2152764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2152366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2152366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2152366"},{"taxonomy":"primary-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary-topic?post=2152366"},{"taxonomy":"partners","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partners?post=2152366"},{"taxonomy":"funder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/funder?post=2152366"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2152366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}