Dr. Kuczewski will briefly review the history and context of immigration to the United States and separate facts from misleading rhetoric that results from the politicization of immigration. He will explain how failure to develop rational immigration policies has negative consequences for the health of our entire communities. He will argue for a stronger advocacy role by the health professions to decouple health care from immigration status.
Learning objectives: At the end of this session, participants should be able to:
- Describe the social, political, and economic realities concerning undocumented immigrants in the United States.
- Identify ethical challenges posed by reactionary social policy in treating undocumented patients in accordance with the values of our health professions and institutions.
- Analyze ways in which health institutions and the health professions are responding to these challenges and advocating for health equity for immigrants.
This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics, and co-sponsored by the following U of MN Units: Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity, School of Public Health; Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, College of Liberal Arts; College of Pharmacy; Immigration History Research Center, College of Liberal Arts; Medical School; Program in Health Disparities Research, Medical School; School of Dentistry; School of Public Health; School of Nursing.
Related Publications:
- Bioethicists and Health Care Institutions Must Act Against Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Law
- Association of Bioethics Program Directors (ABPD) Guidance on Required Questioning of Immigration Status in Healthcare
Additional Resources
References
- American Immigration Council Staff. The Ghost of Public Charge Keeps Scaring Immigrant Families Away from Public Benefits. August 25, 2023 https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/08/25/public-charge-keeps-scaring-immigrant-families-away-from-public-benefits/?emci=7e56cc40-8a43-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&emdi=db11c0d9-e144-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&ceid=10381429
- American Immigration Council, Asylum in the United States. Updated August 16, 2022.
- Association of Bioethics Program Directors. (ABPD) Guidance on Required Questioning of Immigration Status in Healthcare https://www.bioethicsdirectors.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ABPD-Guidance-on-Required-Questioning-of-Immigration-Status-in-Healthcare_FINAL-6.18.23.pdf
- Artiga, Mario Diaz, Kaiser Family Foundation, Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants, July 15, 2019
- Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Updated May 4, 2022.
- Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), Florida SB 1718: Hospitals Collecting Immigration Data. https://www.cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/Florida%20SB%201718%20%20Hospitals%20Collecting%20Immigration%20Data.pdf
- Girtain K, Shah S, Monterrey AC, Gutierrez JR, Kuczewski M, Linton JM. (2023) Moving Toward Inclusion: Access to Care Models for Uninsured Immigrant Children. Milbank Quarterly https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12665
- HealthCare.gov, Immigration Status and the Marketplace, https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/immigration-status/
- Kuczewski MG. (2019) Clinical Ethicists Awakened: Addressing Two Generations of Clinical Ethics Issues involving Undocumented Patients. American Journal of Bioethics 19(4): 51-57
- Kuczewski MG (2019). But We Can Do Something! Caring for the Ongoing Needs of an Undocumented Patient. [Case Commentary] American Journal of Bioethics19(1): 82-83
- Kuczewski M, Here's what we are supposed to believe about immigration as Catholics. America, September 29, 2017.
- Kuczewski MG, Mejias-Beck J, Blair A. (2019) Good Sanctuary Doctoring for Undocumented Patients. AMA Journal of Ethics 21(1): E78-85. https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/good-sanctuary-doctoring-undocumented-patients/2019-01
- Kuczewski MG, Goodman KW. Bioethicists and Health Care Institutions Must Act Against Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Law. Hastings Bioethics Forum May 24, 2023 https://www.thehastingscenter.org/bioethicists-and-health-care-institutions-must-act-against-floridas-anti-immigrant-law/
- Nicolas JL, Koball H, Access to Health Insurance for DACA Recipients with Disabilities, Regeneron Science Competition Project, June 2021.
- Marfo, EA., Fernandez-Sanchez, H. and Annor, BOH. (2022), "Challenges of undocumented immigrants in Canada and the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic: a review", International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 332-340. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-07-2020-0072Samantha
- OECD, What Has Been the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Immigrants? An Update on Recent Evidence, August 3o, 2022, https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/what-has-been-the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-immigrants-an-update-on-recent-evidence-65cfc31c/
- Norris L, What Health Insurance Benefits Are Available to Refugees and Asylees Arriving in the United States? HealthInsurance.org, March 24, 2022 https://www.healthinsurance.org/faqs/what-health-insurance-benefits-are-available-to-refugees-and-asylees-arriving-in-the-united-states/
- Shoicet CE, “Where immigrants come from and where they go after reaching the US April 15, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/15/us/where-immigrants-come-from-cec/index.html
- Toolkits:
- Sanctuary Doctoring https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/good-sanctuary-doctoring-undocumented-patients/2019-01
- AAP Immigrant Child Toolkit https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/immigrant-child-health/
- Doctors For Immigrants Toolkit WelcomingProtectingImmigrants-toolkit-3.pdf (doctorsforimmigrants.com)
- Research Policy Organizations
Migration Policy Institute https://migrationpolicy.org
The American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Immigration Affinity Group. To join, email [email protected]
Speaker(s)
Mark G. Kuczewski, PhD, HEC-C, is the Fr. Michael I. English, S.J., Professor of Medical Ethics. He is also the director of the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Dr. Kuczewski is a past president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) and a Fellow of the Hastings Center. He has been engaged in bedside clinical ethics issues for more than 25 years. For the last decade, he has been an articulate spokesperson for the just and equitable treatment of immigrant patients including creating with Drs. Johana Mejias-Beck and Amy Blair the Sanctuary Doctor website to assist clinicians in supporting immigrant patients. He also led the effort to make the Stritch School of Medicine the first medical school in the nation to openly welcome applicants who are DACA recipients. For his work on behalf of immigrants, Dr. Kuczewski has received numerous awards including the Loyola University Chicago 2017 Faculty Member of the Year.