Why Medical Students Across the Nation Caged Themselves
Written by: Maria Paola Santos and Karina G. Romo
On September 4, 2019, thousands of medical students across the nation took a stand to advocate for the basic human rights of detainees in Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) custody. Coordinated by the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), the Cage-in: White Coats for Human Rights Nationwide Rally, was the largest advocacy movement in LMSA history. Students and physicians at medical schools across the nation, including the University of Minnesota, University of California-Irvine, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of Texas A&M, Weill Cornell, and a dozen more, rallied together in real and symbolic cages to show solidarity with those affected by the ongoing crisis at the border. By using the hashtags #WhiteCoatsforHumanRights and #HeySenatepassHR3239, medical trainees sought to spread awareness on all social media platforms.
Migrants and asylum seekers are being detained and placed in detention centers near the border and across the country. Professional medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Psychiatric Association, have released statements decrying family separation and the facility conditions. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights outlines the fundamental human rights to be universally protected and these include access to basic sanitation, water, and medical care. Still, deaths have occurred at these detention centers, with at least eight being caused by poor medical care, according to Human Rights Watch.
It became clear: our people deserved a nationwide response. Our people deserve to know that medical professionals will stand up for their humanity. Our people deserve to know we share their grief, fear and anger, that we are not indifferent, and that we see their worth.
Karina Guadalupe Romo, a fourth year medical student at the University of Minnesota and first generation Mexican-American immigrant writes, “Nuestra gente, our people, are being detained in centers that do not meet the minimum requirements to respect international standards, nor honor their basic human rights. While some may wonder why asylum seekers and migrants continue to seek refuge in the US knowing these are the conditions they will be welcomed to, we think that there is a far more important question: what conditions must one be fleeing to undertake this risk anyway?”
These stories hit home for Romo, whose parents, immigrants from Jalisco, Mexico, were onced undocumented in America. She adds, “I am deeply moved by the images and stories of today’s migrants on the news. Life has shown me what it feels like to be burdened by the possibility of being unjustly separated from my parents. When we have children separated from their families and caged in detention centers, we are all in cages.”
Maria Paola Santos, a third year medical student at the University of Michigan shares, “I immigrated to America from Bogotá, Colombia with my family in 2003. At the time, Colombia was not safe, there were little to no jobs, and it became clear they had no choice but to flee. Their decision to move was not an easy one but they realized that the hopes and dreams they had for our future were simply not attainable there. When I look at the kids separated and detained at the border, I see myself when I first immigrated here--the fear, the confusion, the unrelenting hope for your family to feel safe.”
The current practices for detained migrants are having damaging repercussions on migrants’ psychological and physical health. Romo explains, “Medical trainees and physicians pledge an oath to be leaders and advocates for health, and, perhaps most importantly, to do no harm. It is our moral obligation to support policies that set standards for the health and human rights of migrants and their families.” Santos adds, “The treatment and medical neglect of migrants and asylum seekers at the border is a direct attack on the entire Latinx community--present, past, and more crucially, future. We cannot sit idly by as our brothers and sisters are reduced to a subhuman level. We are privileged enough to be given a platform to speak out for those who cannot, we can amplify detainees’ voices. It is only right to speak up for the community that has shaped us into who we are today.”
On July 24th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act. This bill would require the CBP to perform initial health screens on detainees and would set standards for water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter and sexual abuse reporting in CBP detention facilities. Importantly, the bill allows for random inspection of the detention centers by the Department of Homeland Security to monitor for bill compliance. Passing this bill will help our nation take a step toward holding our government and the CBP accountable for the human rights of the people in their custody.
Current policies at the border do not address the minimum standards required to uphold detainee’s humanity. The LMSA Cage-in: White Coats for Human Rights Nationwide Rally was a call for action. To our Senators: we welcome you to see yourself and your family in our stories, imagine the factors that have pushed our people to seek asylum, to immigrate, to flee for a life worth living. America is better than this. Thousands of members and allies of the Latino Medical Student Association are calling upon you to pass the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act.
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