I write in support of the 15,000 striking NYSNA nurses fighting for contractual language to protect patients and employees by keeping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of hospitals. We need your help using your political power to call on the hospital bargaining teams to agree to immigrant rights protections as proposed by NYSNA nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Across the nation, patients and nurses have been harassed, abducted, and murdered by ICE agents. ICE camped out at Glendale Hospital in California for six days in July (LA Public Press), interfered with patient care (Guardian), and attempted to question and abduct patients in patient care areas in Minnesota (NY Times). Medical residents point out that ICE presence is a public health crisis causing constant anxiety (Minnesota Post). Louisiana nurse Vilma Palacios was deported by ICE in June (WWNO), and on January 24th, ICE shot and killed Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti (NBC News).

NYC nurses have seen patients afraid to seek care or stay in hospitals, and nurses and staff afraid to come to work because of possible ICE violence.

We are demanding Mount Sinai Hospital protect patients and nurses by keeping ICE out of the hospital unless they have a valid judicial warrant, are accompanied by a hospital administrator who will state they do not consent to activity outside of that warrant, and will be met by a hospital-issued expected response from nurses that “by policy and law we cannot provide law enforcement/ICE with information or access - please wait in the lobby for security and administration.”

Help us protect patients and nurses - tell the Mount Sinai Hospital to agree to the NYSNA proposal for immigrant rights protections.

Resources Cited:

LA Public Press: https://lapublicpress.org/2025/07/ice-agents-glendale-hospital-waiting-to-arrest-a-patient/

Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/16/california-ice-hospitals-patient-care

NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/us/minnesota-hospitals-ice-agents.html

Minnesota Post: https://www.minnpost.com/race-health-equity/2026/01/medical-residents-ice-presence-causing-public-health-crisis-constant-anxiety-that-could-become-chronic/

WWNO: https://www.wwno.org/show/louisiana-considered/2026-01-16/nola-nurse-deported-by-ice-shares-her-story-saying-goodbye-to-health-care-reporter-rosemary-westwood