May 6, 2026

Healthcare workers letter in support of the PROTECT Act (S3072)

Dear Senator:

On behalf of doctors, health care and elder care workers, frontline staff, and administrators, and members of the Health and Law Immigrant Solidarity Network (an organization founded in 2017 which includes nearly 600 healthcare workers and community leaders working to keep healthcare welcoming to immigrants) we urge you to pass we urge you to pass S.3072 and proposed amendments 12, 13, 15, 30, 51, which offer much needed protections for healthcare spaces.

We are grateful to see that the Senate version of the PROTECT Act includes vital protections to prohibit immigration enforcement activity in sensitive locations, such as health centers and hospitals, schools, and courthouses from our health centers, hospitals and non-traditional healthcare spaces.

We are further heartened to see that the Senate bill includes provisions to notify employees of an I-9 audit in pending legislation to address the current situation. In Massachusetts one in five healthcare workers are immigrants. Immigrant workers, from the cleaning staff to the front line workers to the administrators, have indicated that they fear going to work because of the current increase in ICE activity.

Our hospitals and health systems are currently enduring financial hardship, as we continue to care for diverse patient populations, in the face of waning federal funding and diminishing insurance coverage. Many health systems fear repercussions for protecting the rights of immigrant patients in their care, and therefore additional protections at the state level are vital.

Hundreds of clinicians have attested that patients have been cancelling or not keeping appointments due to fear of encountering ICE in our clinics and hospitals, and have signed a letter urging our health systems to take concrete steps to keep healthcare welcoming to immigrant patients and families. Currently, limited guidance and protections for health care workers who take action to support their immigrant patients’ rights leads to confusion, stress, and can worsen burnout amongst an already overstretched and challenged health care workforce.

Our communities have been racked by fear of deportation and detention. The mass deportation program of the Trump administration has targeted immigrant workers, who are the backbone of our economy and our beloved coworkers who staff our medical and care facilities. It has also torn apart families, taking parents from their children, and leaving families unable to pay rent when breadwinners are detained and deported. Every day, serving our patients and communities becomes increasingly difficult as we suffer the moral injury of being unable to address the tremendous harm our patients and communities face by the intentional cruelty of current immigration policies.

Research from two Massachusetts safety-net hospitals demonstrated a significant increase in missed appointments among patients who spoke languages other than English, after anti-immigrant fearmongering and expanded deportation priorities took effect in 2017. Without follow up chronic medical conditions can worsen, causing life-threatening exacerbations and driving up healthcare costs. There are economic consequences too: missed appointments cost the U.S. health system $150 billion annually, with an average missed appointment costing approximately $200.

At this moment the situation is substantially more dire than in 2017. Patients share with us heartbreaking stories of how they weigh decisions about whether or not to leave their home to go to work, take children to school, out of fear that they may never see their loved ones again. Frontline healthcare workers, many of whom are immigrants, also report fear regarding the threat of ICE officers entering hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities. When police collaborate with ICE, survivors of assault and domestic violence avoid reporting abuse due to fear of deportation.

2025 was the deadliest year in ICE custody in 2 decades. 2026 is already on track to be worse: 10 people have already died in ICE custody, including most recently Massachusetts resident, Emmanuel Damas, who died due to medical negligence. Research has consistently demonstrated the health harms of immigration detention. People in detention have much higher rates of of poor health and mental illness compared to the general population. Medical experts concluded in another study that 95% of deaths in ICE detention between 2017 and 2021 would have been preventable if appropriate medical care had been provided.
In this critical moment, we must signal to our immigrant neighbors that they are valued, integral members of our communities, our economy, and our society, and that they can safely seek public services without fear of deportation and family separation.

S.3072 and the PROTECT Act send a clear message that the Massachusetts state legislature will offer concrete policy in defense of the rights of our immigrant community members, limit collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE in Massachusetts, and protect their access to healthcare, education and dignified lives.

In closing, we thank you for your leadership and urge you to pass this very important legislation.