Without saying anything, apparently knowing it would not be so easily accepted, the Trump administration stopped allowing certain immigrants who had asked for a temporary reprieve from deportation while they undergo life-saving medical care to stay here, a move that took patients, caregivers, lawmakers, and some federal officials by surprise.
Caseworkers will reconsider some applications that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently denied.
Deferred Action is designed to shield immigrants with serious medical conditions and other extraordinary circumstances from deportation, and hundreds of sick immigrants have benefited from the program, many being children who were brought here by their parents seeking a better life for their families and a better chance for treatment for a child.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
“As USCIS’ deferred action caseload is reduced, the career employees who decide such cases will be more available to address other types of legal immigration applications on a more efficient basis.”
The change in the policy came to light when immigration attorneys and their clients applied for medical deferred action or a renewal of it ,and began to receive notices that the USCIS was no longer considering petitions for the relief, and those denied new deferments or renewals of existing ones had thirty days to leave the United States or face deportation.
Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (DACA), medical deferments for children brought here illegally by their parents was a temporary relief options offered by USCIS on humanitarian grounds.
USCIS said it will let Customs Enforcement (ICE) make the decisions about medical deferments, but ICE, whose agents have the discretion to determine which individuals to prioritized for deportation, said that ICE does not accept “applications” for deferred action.
Democrats are concerned about USCIS outsourcing deferred action requests to ICE, an agency feared by most undocumented immigrants, because those who need medical help for their child may choose to avoid it because of the fear of deportation which ICE carries out, and more than 100 members of Congress have written the Department of Homeland Security objecting by stating,
“Requiring that prospective applicants request this humanitarian relief by applying to an immigration enforcement agency that detains and deports hundreds of thousands of immigrants annually, will deter many vulnerable children and families from coming forward and seeking life-saving protection.”
Obviously, scrapping this program or reassigning it to ICE will jeopardize the lives of vulnerable immigrants and children.
The letter was spearheaded by Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Mark DeSaulnier of Massachusetts, Zoe Lofgren, Judy Chu and Lou Correa of California, and Massachusetts Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren.
There are at least a dozen children suffering with cancer, cystic fibrosis, HIV, epilepsy, and other diseases who have been granted “medical deferred action” and are receiving treatment at Boston hospitals because Boston is a center for specialized hospitals for children and cancer treatment.
Boston Medical Center officials said that they “oppose any actions that could prevent people from accessing the health care they need. We are encouraged by the visibility that has been generated by the many advocates who share our concern. We are hopeful that their advocacy on behalf of children will result in a reversal of this policy.”
Senator Markey has said,
“It is absolutely immoral to be deporting children with cancer. We cannot and will not allow this to stand.”
According to Markey, ICE officials told his staff they would force the affected families to go through deportation proceedings before deciding their fate. They will not only be worrying about the sick child losing necessary care, but will also have to worry how the process will play out.
How dehumanizing.
Ayanna Pressley said,
“Deportation from the United States with this type of medical condition is a death sentence.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden tweeted,
“There is no national security justification for further traumatizing sick kids at their most vulnerable. Like all bullies, Trump is purposefully targeting the little guys — but I would have thought even he would understand that kids with cancer and cystic fibrosis were off-limits.”
Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts said in a statement
“The ACLU will fight to protect these sick children and their families, and to hold this administration to account. Every option is on the table, and we’re currently exploring litigation options.”
And, Dr. Fiona Danaher, a pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital’s clinic in Chelsea, said 33 days is not nearly enough time to plan the transfer of a patient to where the treatment or equipment they need may not be available, and said further,
“This administration has been taking many steps to undermine the health of immigrant children, and this is just the latest. It’s appalling.”
But to show this not an isolated directed move, the Trump administration is curtailing U visas that allow crime victims who have helped law enforcement with investigations stay in the United States.
So, along with sending people back to countries where they could be facing death from gangs or rogue militias, sending sick children back to countries whose medical system cannot handle the illnesses they have, and now exposing people who helped our law enforcement to face possible retaliation, the Trump administration is not limiting death to any specific group, but is spreading the wealth.
America.