Media Contact
Pete Thomson
Chief Communications Officer
American Medical Student Association
Email:pr@amsa.org
Phone: 703-665-4786
AMSA Stands with Immigrant Families
Sterling, Va., July 4, 2018—The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) stands with immigrant families, strongly opposing the administration’s previous policy of separating families and current practice of prolonged detention of immigrants at the border.
AMSA has long believed that it is a physician’s responsibility to report inhumane or degrading treatment, and as the largest independent organization of future physicians, AMSA is fulfilling this duty by standing against what is happening at the border. The previous policy of separating children from their parents is traumatic and damaging to children’s health in the short-term and long-term, and we support Trump’s executive order to stop this policy. However, this is only one step in the fight for human rights, and reunification still needs to occur for those children who have been separated from their families. The remaining practice of prolonged detention is still a violation of due process and renders unnecessary hardship on these families, and AMSA urges the administration to discontinue prolonged detention without appropriate review or to implement alternatives to detention.
Recently, AMSA’s national president and education and advocacy fellow stood alongside other representatives from the American Psychological Association, Doctors for America, National Physicians Alliance, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and American Public Health Association behind U.S. Reps. Raul Ruiz, Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer as they spoke out against these “zero-humanity” policies. AMSA’s national president also marched in Washington, D.C., with other white coats at the Families Belong Together rally.
AMSA believes that all people deserve basic human rights, and that the medical community has a duty to report cruel or degrading treatment. AMSA joins other policymakers and physicians and physician organizations in standing firmly against these policies.
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About the American Medical Student Association:
AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing physicians-in-training, advocating for quality and affordable healthcare for all, and building the next generation of physician leaders. To join our community, visit amsa.org.
Medical students and physicians at Families Belong Together rally in Washington, D.C., June 30, 2018.
Medical students and physicians join Rep. Ruiz at a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 21, 2018.
