Providing health care to refugees

Migration into the United States is currently a hotly debated and highly charged issue. For political reasons changes in U.S. immigration policy are certain to occur in the near future. While America is called a country of immigrants it is much less a country of refugees. The distinction between the two groups is not always clearly understood by clinicians yet is of great importance for both health screening and follow-up care. If all migration into the country were stopped today, health care professionals would still be treating health conditions and observing cultural practices that are unique to those already admitted.