Immigration remains a hot topic. Congress failed to pass a “compromise” immigration bill a few weeks ago, leaving DACA recipients “in legal limbo.” The Administration is scrambling to reunite children separated from their parents at the border to meet a judge’s order – they have until July 26 and are already behind schedule with the youngest kids. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court upheld the Trump Administration’s third attempt at a travel ban – blocking entry to the US for some immigrants and visa holders from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.

So how do these issues impact health care? We shared the concern about adverse childhood experiences for the separated children in our last newsletter. In addition, federal policies will create challenges for accessing care. Our health care system is heavily dependent on foreign-trained health care providers. Nearly 30% of doctors and surgeons and nearly 25% of nurses and home health aides in the US are immigrants. Foreign-trained physicians make up more than 50 percent of geriatric medicine doctors, almost half of nephrologists (or kidney doctors), nearly 40 percent of internal medicine doctors, and nearly a quarter of family medicine physicians. Some Texas families concerned about deportation are reportedly opting out of health benefits for their kids, which may become a trend with the expected changes to public charge rules. NoHLA is working with the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition to alleviate fears among immigrant families with the development of talking points for public agencies, community-based organizations and service providers who serve immigrants and refugees.