Underwood-led Policy to Address Gaps in Border Health Security Recognized as "Critical" by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner in Recent Hearing

Statement

Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14) questioned the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Chris Magnus, on the implementation of the agency's electronic health record (EHR) system in an Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing. Underwood and Chairwoman Lucille Roybal-Allard secured language and $30 million for CBP to establish the system in the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations package signed into law by the previous administration. As the nation continues to face a global pandemic and other health challenges, the EHR is instrumental in monitoring and recording health documentation along the border, including CBP's first-ever administration of COVID-19 vaccines to migrants, which Underwood successfully advocated for.

During Underwood's questioning, Magnus stated that the EHR system is "critical, and nothing less than what we would want in terms of our own medical records," now that CBP has fully implemented EHR and plans to continually improve the system.

"When I visited the border in 2019, I witnessed migrants' medical records being kept on scrap paper, if at all. As a nurse, I know the importance of record keeping in providing quality medical care -- and that isn't what I saw. I came to the Committee -- with the support of Chairwoman Roybal-Allard -- and fought to create and fund an electronic health record system at CBP that will ensure continuity of care for migrants who are often transferred from one federal agency to another. As a result of this system, we are witnessing groundbreaking implementation and enhanced patient care at the border," said Underwood.

EHRs allow DHS to effectively communicate and document vital health information and care medical personnel are providing from the point of apprehension to the point of release from DHS custody or transfer to another federal agency, such as the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement. The EHR manages critical information that protects the health and safety of migrants, federal officers, and the homeland. The funding Underwood and Roybal-Allard secured for CBP's EHR was included in an appropriations package that President Trump signed into law in 2020.

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