Dear Leadership and Members of the American Nurses Association,
I write today with both disappointment and urgency.
I had intended to raise my voice during the ANA Membership Assembly regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling affecting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Haiti and Syria. Although I did not have the opportunity to present my statement during the Assembly, the importance of this issue compels me to speak now.
As nurses, we understand better than most that immigration policy is health policy.
The Supreme Court’s decision is not merely a legal or political matter, it is a public health crisis in the making. Policies that strip protections from vulnerable immigrant communities create fear, instability, trauma, and barriers to healthcare access. Fear of detention, deportation, and family separation discourages individuals from seeking preventive care, chronic disease management, mental health services, prenatal care, and life-saving treatment.
“When fear becomes a social determinant of health, suffering increases.”
We must also recognize an undeniable truth: immigrants are not only recipients of care, they are indispensable providers of care.
Across the United States, TPS holders and immigrant communities serve on the frontlines of healthcare as nurses, physicians, nursing assistants, home health aides, therapists, and caregivers. They cared for our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, often at great personal sacrifice. Their labor, expertise, and compassion strengthen our healthcare system every single day.
At a time when our nation faces persistent nursing shortages, workforce instability, and widening health disparities, policies that threaten immigrant healthcare workers directly undermine patient care and community health.
Silence is not neutral.
The nursing profession has always stood for human dignity, social justice, and equitable access to care. The American Nurses Association has both the responsibility and moral obligation to speak boldly on immigration policies that harm health outcomes and destabilize the healthcare workforce.
I call upon ANA to strengthen its advocacy and publicly affirm that:
- Immigration policy is health policy
- Human dignity must remain central to public policy
- Immigrant healthcare workers are essential to workforce sustainability
- Healthcare access must never be compromised by fear, discrimination, or legal vulnerability
Our Code of Ethics calls us to advocate beyond the bedside. Advocacy requires courage, especially when silence is more comfortable.
Contrary to the rhetoric that’s pervasive, America is a nation of immigrants, not some but all, and ANA should see this as a priority.
I would like to thank Dr. Katie Boston-Leary for providing me guidance on how to bring this important issue to the floor.
As a nurse leader, educator, advocate, and someone deeply connected to immigrant communities, I cannot ignore the pain, anxiety, and uncertainty this ruling has created for countless families.
I urge ANA to stand unequivocally with immigrant communities and to champion policies rooted in justice, compassion, and health equity.
“History will remember whether we chose silence or solidarity.”
I choose solidarity.
Respectfully,
Dr. Marie O. Etienne, DNP, APRN, FNP, PNP, D. Min (h.c.), PLNC, FADLN
Founder, President & CEO, Global Innovative Foundation | ANA Representative for FNA | Nurse Leader | Advocate | Chair of Legislative Affairs of HANA of Florida & Co-Chair of Health Policy and Legislative Issues for Miami Chapter, Black Nurses Association
