Statement attributable to:
Ana María López, MD, MPH, MACP
President, American College of Physicians
Washington, DC (November 9, 2018) – The American College of Physicians (ACP) appreciates the decision of a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court's ruling against efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The DACA program protects undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and prevents them from being deported. ACP strongly believes that any attempt to eliminate the DACA program will undermine medical education and public health.
Medical students and resident physicians are among those who are protected under DACA, and ending the program would negatively impact the physician workforce and the patients they treat. These “dreamers” have the experience and background needed to treat an increasingly diverse patient population. Additionally, ACP fears that any attempt to undermine the DACA program would make it exceedingly difficult for immigrants to access health care coverage, going against ACP’s longstanding goal of improving access to affordable, quality health care for all.
ACP is relieved to see that the DACA program will continue to be upheld, and reaffirms its calls to Congress to implement legislation that will protect dreamers and create a permanent pathway to citizenship.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 154,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Contact: Julie Hirschhorn, (202) 261-4523, jhirschhorn@acponline.org