288 Beyond borders, beyond care: the health risks of offshore migrant detention

Abstract OP 18: Mental Health 1, B304 (FCSH), September 4, 2025, 13:30 - 14:30 Aims The offshoring of migrant detention is not a new policy development, but it has recently come back into the forefront with the February 2025 decision by the United States to detain migrants in Cuba, Panama, and Costa Rica. Extensive evidence from around the world reveals the negative impacts of detention on migrants’ physical and psychological health. Externalizing migration detention only serves to multiply these effects. This paper aims to show that?offshore immigration detention is an inefficient, expensive, and dangerous policy that has dire consequences for the health of migrants. Methods This paper explores the existing academic and scientific literature surrounding the health impacts of immigration detention, focusing in particular on migrants in situations of protracted and externalized detention. It utilizes several case studies, including from Australia, Greece, Thailand, and the United States that underscore the specific health impacts of offshore detention on migrants in a variety of political contexts. Finally, the paper provides alternatives to offshore migration detention and recommendations for policymakers, healthcare providers, and legal advocates. Results This paper reveals that offshore immigration detention negatively impacts migrants in a number of direct and indirect ways. First, and most stark: offshore detention is associated with a significant increased risk in PTSD and other mental illnesses. Second, protracted detention, as is often the case with offshore detention, is associated with worsening physical health. Lastly, offshore detention prevents or limits access to timely, adequate care from medical providers, multiplying the negative effects on health. Conclusions Offshore migration detention is a policy that is gaining traction in migrant-receiving countries in the West. Not only is this an expensive and ineffective policy, but it has severe negative effects on the health of migrants. For this reason alone, the policy must not be allowed to proliferate.