Trump Is Trying to Deport Thousands of Medical Care Dreamer Professionals in Midst of Pandemic
March 27th 2020
Protesters hold various signs and banners at a DACA rally in San Francisco (Pax Ahimsa Gethen)
By Gabe Ortiz
Roughly 27,000 of the 700,000 young immigrants “impeached president” Donald Trump’s administration has made it clear that it wants to deport are medical care professionals. It’s despicable enough that he wants to separate their families and then deport them to a place that hasn’t been home to them for years, but he’s also doing it as the U.S. enters a pandemic and faces a “looming national doctor shortage,” Washington Monthly reports.
“The huge spike in coronavirus cases across the United States has hospitals struggling to remain fully staffed. A looming national doctor shortage appears imminent, and it’s never been clearer just how important America’s frontline medical workers are,” Washington Monthly continued. Should the Supreme Court soon side with the administration, “many of them may not be able to work here much longer.”
Among those worrying is Yazmin Irazoqui Ruiz. She told the House Judiciary Committee last year that while she hopes to specialize in women’s health when she soon graduates from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, the Trump administration’s attacks are threatening to derail all of her work. “When Donald Trump killed DACA, my mental health was tenuous,” she said. “Here I am, once again, having worked hard in medical school, and now facing the reality of my future career as a physician being pulled out from under me—and I know I’m not alone.”
They are also the first responders who may help save your life. BuzzFeed News reported in 2017 that Houston area paramedic Jesus Contreras worked for nearly a week straight in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, assisting people who needed insulin and other lifesaving procedures and rescuing people from floodwaters. “It was emotional because you’re seeing people go through some of the hardest moments of your life,” Contreras told BuzzFeed News. “It shook up our entire community.”
“Why would the Trump administration deny Americans the services of this talented cadre of young people at the very moment when it needs them most?” Washington Monthly asks. Because White House aide Stephen Miller and this administration continue to prioritize racism and anti-immigrant policies over just about anything else. This continues even as we face a national crisis, not just due to the pandemic itself, but also because of the fact that “the ranks of front-line health workers will be stretched thin” as cases continue to escalate, NPR reported.
“With the country facing a once-in-a-lifetime challenge, there may be no worse time for the Supreme Court to issue a decision disrupting the lives of DACA recipients, their more than 250,000 U.S. citizen children, and the communities that rely upon them,” tweeted Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress. “During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, DACA recipients are struggling to balance work and life just like the rest of us, and many are among the 'helpers' providing necessary medical care, designing distance learning programs for our kids, and stocking grocery shelves,” he continued.
“America can’t afford such a loss,” Washington Monthly said—but neither can these hundreds of thousands of young people and their families. “To the thousands of DACA recipients who are health care practitioners—Thank you,” tweeted faith organization NETWORK. “We know Dreamers are important and valuable members of our families and our communities, no matter their profession. And your #HomeIsHere.”
Posted with permission