World Trade Center Health Program Receives Full Funding Through 2040
The program has helped more than 150,000 people get long-term care and medical monitoring after being exposed to toxins after the 9/11 attacks. Also, the latest news about the immigration crisis.
ABC News:
Congress Secures Long-Term Funding For The World Trade Center Health Program
Congress has approved legislation for a funding fix that fully supports the World Trade Center Health Program and prevents a projected multibillion-dollar shortfall that threatened the program’s future. At a press conference Thursday morning, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., highlighted the action as a critical step toward protecting long-term care for those sickened by toxic exposure after the Sept. 11 attacks. "Fully funding the World Trade Center Health Program honors our promise to never forget 9/11 survivors and the brave first responders who put their lives on the line for our country," Gillibrand said. (Neporent, 2/5)
On ICE funding and the immigration crisis —
The New York Times:
Senators Clash Over Immigration Enforcement, Risking A D.H.S. Shutdown
Bipartisan Senate talks aimed at reining in President Trump’s immigration crackdown appeared to sputter on Thursday before they had even started, raising the risk of a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security in a little over a week. Senators left Washington for the weekend without opening serious talks on a measure needed to keep the department running past a Feb. 13 midnight deadline, with Democrats demanding major changes to immigration enforcement operations and Republicans digging in against measures to curb the Trump administration’s deportation drive. (Gold, 2/5)
KFF Health News:
With ICE Using Medicaid Data, Hospitals And States Are In A Bind Over Warning Immigrant Patients
The Trump administration’s move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is putting hospitals and states in a bind as they weigh whether to alert immigrant patients that their personal information, including home addresses, could be used in efforts to remove them from the country. Warning patients could deter them from signing up for a program called Emergency Medicaid, through which the government reimburses hospitals for the cost of emergency treatment for immigrants who are ineligible for standard Medicaid coverage. (Galewitz and Seitz, 2/6)
NPR:
Some Public Health Service Officers Deployed To Detention Centers Suffer 'Moral Distress'
In 2025, as immigrant arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement soared, so did the demand for health care providers to staff hastily constructed detention centers. One group tapped to meet the need is the U.S. Public Health Service, or USPHS: In the past year, nearly 400 officers have done monthlong tours helping to provide basic medical care to detainees at ICE facilities nationwide, according to a USPHS employee who reviewed a roster of staff deployments. (Landman, 2/5)
The Washington Post:
School Officials Say Missing Minneapolis Girl Seen In ICE Detention In Texas
Children detained by ICE in Minneapolis and taken to Texas spotted a classmate in the cafeteria of the detention center. (Wu, 2/5)
Minnesota Public Radio:
Minnesota Parents Seek Ways To Help Kids Cope With ICE Trauma And Chaos
Raighn Hudson’s two-and-a-half year old son is too young to understand the boiling tensions in Minnesota over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But as a member of the Tsimshian Eagle Clan from Ketchikan, Alaska, the 25-year-old Hudson said he worries he and his family could be targeted by federal agents. (Yang, 2/5)
The 19th:
For People In ICE Detention, Access To Pads And Tampons Is Inconsistent
Period products like pads and tampons are considered an essential public health need, but access for women and trans people held in federal custody — from prisons to immigration detention centers — remains inconsistent. While specific figures for women held in immigration detention have not been reported for President Donald Trump’s second term, the detention population broadly reached record highs in 2025, growing from about 40,000 to nearly 70,000 people. (Norwood, 2/5)
The Washington Post:
Want To Sue ICE For A Bloody Nose Or Broken Fence? It’s An Uphill Battle.
Many allege injuries or property damaged during the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Experts say suing the government will be tough. (Brittain, Klemko and Sacchetti, 2/6)
