Educating and activating health professionals to work toward health equity.

Minnesota Doctors for Health Equity Denounces ICE Human Rights Violations

Today in Minnesota, we are witnessing a systematic dismantling of human dignity, marking a dark chapter of human rights violations in the United States -- from the extrajudicial killing of Renee Good to the brutalization of constitutional observers to the violent arrests and detainment of citizens and non-citizens alike.  As physicians, we are also seeing the more insidious human rights violations –  by targeting clinics, hospitals, grocery stores, and places of work, "Operation Metro Surge" is leading a systemic campaign to strip our community of its health, its livelihood, and its dignity under the guise of immigration enforcement.  

Human rights apply to everyone. As physicians, our commitment to do no harm, protect confidentiality, and advance justice requires us to speak. Defending human rights is not political. It is a professional and ethical obligation.The current administration, and ICE in particular, is showing a blatant disregard for the rights of both citizens and non-citizens alike. Enforcement in or near clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies causes patients to avoid care, interrupts treatment, and worsens health outcomes. We oppose the use of healthcare spaces for immigration enforcement and reaffirm the duty to protect patient privacy and dignity.

These times are chaotic and complex, and we don’t, individually, have all the answers.  Collectively, we think we do. Here are 4 pillars the MDHEQ board discussed:

Act Locally:  

• Help where you can, when you can.  Check in with neighbors, friends, colleagues, staff, medical assistants, nurses, and pharmacists. Whether it is time and space, food, or medicine, the people we work with are affected or know someone who is.

• Buy and read the book “On Tyranny” by Timothy Snyder 

• There are many amazing organizations with the wisdom and infrastructure to do great work – Tap into existing mutual aid networks to donate, deliver or drive:

• • LinkTree List of Groups

  • https://mnnoice.com/  

• Contact any community organizations you have a connection with and see what the community needs are. The obvious ones are food, diapers, and rent assistance. But people need hope, connection, something to do, and mindful distractions as they sit at home.  We shouldn’t presume to know what people need.

• Support affected businesses

Create Prescription Pathways:

• People need medications. We need to figure out how to get them to them in an ethical way, which means honoring patient privacy:

• • Genoa Pharmacy: Delivers for free, has interpreters and a discount program.

  • Mail order pharmacies are a partial solution, but may require logins (costplugdrugs.com, for example).

  • The best path may be working with mutual aid groups so that they can pick up and deliver medications. We are working on this, if you want to join the effort or have any ideas let us know: info@mdheq.org

Stories Matter

• We are collecting stories for a submission to a national newspaper about the effects of ICE enforcement on healthcare. Click the link for details. 

• Documenting human rights violations will be an important role for physicians now and moving forward. We will be forming a group to work on this. Contact info@mdheq.org if you are interested in this work, particularly if you have human rights or forensic examination experience.  

• People need to know about what is happening “behind the scenes” -- write letters to the editor (a resource for how and where to submit them), contact reporters, and volunteer to be interviewed to share what you are seeing in your work and communities.

Medical-Legal Partnerships

• We are exploring ways to collaborate with lawyers to defend human rights and to mitigate the harm that is being done.  Specifically, training front-line providers in the recognition and documentation of human rights violations, as well as working with lawyers to document trauma related to arrest and detention. Again, if you have interest or experience contact info@mdheq.org.

As physicians, our duty to do no harm, protect confidentiality, and advance justice requires us to speak and act. Fear, delayed care, and disrupted access to food and medications are health harms, and healthcare spaces must remain safe places for care, not enforcement. MDHEQ commits to trauma informed, culturally responsive care, to documenting harm in ways that protect patients, and to working with community and legal partners to mitigate ongoing violations. We invite clinicians and allies to act locally, support mutual aid, protect patient dignity, and join this work. Together, we can meet this moment with integrity and work toward a future where human rights are upheld for everyone.