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Nurses rally to protest ICE, immigration operations
Nurses across the country are uniting against immigration enforcement. They gathered tonight at the medical district on Chicago's West Side. Joanie Lum is there, they say ice is a threat to public health.
CHICAGO - Nurses in Chicago joined others across the country Thursday in a coordinated protest against federal immigration enforcement, gathering in the city’s Medical District to call for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a shift in funding toward health care.
What we know:
The rally was held outside the former Cook County Hospital building on the city’s West Side, now a hotel. Organizers said union nurses participated as part of a nationwide day of action targeting ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Speakers at the event argued that immigration enforcement poses a threat to public health, alleging both direct harm from enforcement tactics and indirect harm when immigrants avoid seeking medical care out of fear.
"We nurses are terrified of what will happen when they show up in our emergency departments with injured patients, sometimes injured by ICE themselves," Emy Roth, an emergency room nurse, said.
Another nurse criticized government spending priorities, saying funds should be redirected from immigration enforcement to health care, housing and education.
Organizers also raised concerns about reports last fall that ICE and Border Patrol agents attempted to enter Stroger Hospital to search for immigrants. Health care workers said such incidents intimidate and traumatize patients.
Cook County officials issued an executive order last fall prohibiting staff from cooperating with immigration enforcement in hospitals.
The nurses said their union is leveraging its national membership to push for policy changes and is encouraging voters to weigh immigration enforcement issues in upcoming elections.
The Source: This story contains reporting from Fox Chicago's Joanie Lum.