In the past weeks and months, we have collectively witnessed children violently taken from their parents, families torn apart, health care workers abducted, and federal agents chasing patients into emergency departments. We have witnessed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) besiege the state of Minnesota and other communities across the nation, detaining multiple U.S. citizens, children, and even Native Americans. These attacks culminated in the murder of two US citizens who were peacefully exercising their constitutional rights.

Our community members hide in their homes, afraid to visit clinics, attend school and work, or even go to the grocery store, as masked, armed federal agents roam the streets. We have witnessed an increasingly violent federal agency act without accountability. There have been at least 12 shootings in January 2026 alone and 2025 saw over 30 reported deaths in ICE custody, the highest number in over 20 years.

For months, our schedules have held empty slots, as our immigrant patients have risked skipping life-saving medical care. Fear of seeking care during emergencies can be fatal, while delaying or interrupting treatment for chronic illnesses worsens health and increases cost. Immigrants are also our neighbors, our friends, our coworkers, and us; they represent nearly 20% of the healthcare workforce. As our coworkers lose status we wonder who will care for our communities.

A core principle of healthcare is that we care for all people to the best of our ability, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, or immigration status. Providing care free from discrimination is an ethical obligation and fundamental to public health. After the shooting of both Renee Good and Alex Pretti, healthcare professionals were prevented from administering first aid, a violation of both our ethical duties and the Geneva Conventions.

We join a national call by over 600 organizations to demand Congress immediately halt all funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection until the violence, abuses, and deaths in American communities and in immigration detention centers stop. Now is the time to make way for comprehensive immigration reform which serves us all. Our country deserves immigration policies and enforcement which create space for the many diverse people who make America great and to protect the rule of law, due process, civil rights, and our democracy.

We furthermore urge our healthcare institutions and professional associations to uphold the sanctity of healthcare by:

1) Creating and implementing formal policies to protect all of our patients’ privacy and access to healthcare, without exceptions.

2) Explicitly communicating to patients that our health institutions welcome and care for all, and which specific measures have been taken to protect their care.

3) Advocating for our immigrant colleagues in order to protect the stability of our workforce and the integrity of our communities.

4) Effectively communicating to legislators and other decision makers how these operations are harming our patients and communities.

5) Unequivocally condemning any attempts by ICE or other federal agents to block administration of lifesaving emergency care, a duty which is protected by the Geneva Conventions and our professional ethical code.