Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sick Immigrants Testify Before Congress About Importance Of Medical Deferment Program: 'If I’m Sent Back, I Will Die'
WBUR: House Hearing On Medical Deferred Action Offers Little Clarity On Why Process Ended
A hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday produced more questions than answers around why the Trump administration moved to quietly end a humanitarian immigration policy known as "medical deferred action." Though little clarity was provided by federal immigration officials, the distinct partisan divide on immigration policy was laid bare, with Republican lawmakers suggesting the hearing itself was a scare tactic and the Democrats calling this an inhumane move by the Trump administration. (Dooling, 9/11)
The Associated Press: Democrats Slam Decision To End Immigrant Medical Relief
Democratic lawmakers criticized federal immigration officials Wednesday for refusing to explain their decision to stop considering requests from immigrants seeking to defer deportation for medical treatment and other hardships. Officials with two agencies — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement — declined to answer many questions posed during a contentious House hearing, citing a recent legal challenge from civil rights groups. (Marcelo, 9/11)
The Washington Post: Administration Provides Few Answers For Critically Ill Immigrants Facing Possible Deportation
Asked whether ICE would be taking any steps to ensure that critically ill immigrants would continue to receive the protections afforded by deferred action, Timothy Robbins, the acting executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE, said the Department of Homeland Security is “still considering a pathway forward, and those are internal discussions that we are not prepared to discuss.” Renaud and Robbins addressed the committee after lawmakers heard from legal experts, a pediatrician, and two young people, both of whom said they were dependent on lifesaving medical treatment available to them in the United States through deferred action. A forced return to their native countries, Guatemala and Honduras, they said, would be a “death sentence.” (Hauslohner, 9/11)
The New York Times: ‘If I’m Sent Back, I Will Die’: Sick Immigrants Tell Their Stories To Congress
One immigrant went to California as a child to participate in a drug study that has helped Americans survive with a rare genetic disease. Another, an adolescent girl from Spain, was told by a cardiologist that she must remain in Boston to receive critical care for which her family borrowed thousands of dollars. A teenage boy with cystic fibrosis arrived in the United States “literally dying,” he said, but now has a new lease on life. (Jordan, 9/11)
San Jose Mercury News: Concord Resident Testifies At Probe Of Immigration Officials
A Concord woman who immigrated to the United States as a young girl to receive life saving medical care urged Congress on Wednesday to do what it can to prevent her from being deported, possibly to die from her illness. “Thinking about you’re going to die when you have so many dreams and hopes for your life, it’s devastating,” Isabel Bueso testified during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. (Sciacca, 9/11)
