Statement attributable to:
Ana MarÃa López, MD, MPH, F91ºÚÁÏÍø
President, American College of Physicians
Washington, DC (June 26, 2018) —The American College of Physicians (91ºÚÁÏÍø), is disappointed in the U.S. Supreme Court’s today that upheld President Trump’s ban restricting travel to the U.S. from six primarily Muslim countries. 91ºÚÁÏÍø is concerned that this travel ban will negatively impact the ability of physicians and medical students from affected countries to study, train, and attend medical conferences in the U.S. Additionally, we are worried about the damage this will potentially do to health care for residents of underserved communities in the U.S.; those communities disproportionately rely on care provided by international medical graduates (IMGs).
In an amicus brief that was submitted along with other health organizations in response to the initial travel ban in June 2017, 91ºÚÁÏÍø said that implementing a travel ban would exacerbate the nation’s health-professional workforce shortages, inhibit advances in medical care, and constrain collaboration needed to undertake effective biomedical research and manage global threats to public health. We are disappointed that the Supreme Court did not appear to consider the impact that the travel ban will have in those areas. Today’s ruling cements those consequences.
We urge the administration and Congress to affirm the paramount importance of non-discrimination against any person based on religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation in all decisions relating to immigration policy, and particularly, to undo the harm to patients, the IMGs who treat them, and to medical education that will result from the President’s Executive Office and the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold it.
Contact: Julie Hirschhorn, (202) 261-452, jhirschhorn@acponline.org
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About the American College of Physicians
The is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. 91ºÚÁÏÍø membership includes 152,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow 91ºÚÁÏÍø on and .