Protecting Immigrant Patients

by Danielle Ofri
New York Times Op-ed

It was hardly two weeks after the election when a doctor in our clinic received a letter from one of her patients, an undocumented immigrant who feared that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might detain her under a second Trump term.

The patient had diabetes and suffered from rotator cuff tendinitis, which makes reaching backward quite painful. “Is there any possibility you can write a letter,” she asked, “stating that if they handcuff me, can they please handcuff me with my hands in front of me?” She was also panicked about her diabetes. “I am scared that they will not allow me to take any medications in the immigration camps.”

The patient asked that if the doctor needed an in-person visit with her, “may it be scheduled before January?” She would do only virtual visits after Trump took office. “I’m scared I.C.E. will be in train stations and bus stops,” she said.

As a physician, it was hard to read this without feeling sickened…. (Read the full op-ed in the New York Times)