PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philly Nurses are teaming up with healthcare workers across the nation, demanding that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reform its immigration practices.
Following the recent deaths of Alex Pretti and Rene Good in Minneapolis, Doctors Marion Leary and Kathy Shaffer, both nurse advocates and activists, are putting out a national call to action, demanding that ICE immediately put in place public health and human rights safeguards.
“As part of the Nurses Shift Change, we wanted to put out a petition so that our voices could be heard by local legislators, nursing organizations, and other nurses, showing that we are coming together as a community,” Leary explained.
“To say we need to protect the public and public health from the immigration policies that ICE is currently putting forward.”
To emphasize the urgency of the matter and the importance of community, alongside grassroots nursing groups, they gathered concerned voices in a national petition.
“The easiest way to do this is to contact senators in particular because there’s a bill now in office asking them to please don’t fund ICE any further,” Leary said.
They’re calling on nurses and allies to sign the petition to prevent further endangerment of patients by changing harmful policies into actions that protect the public.
For more information about the petition, go to actionnetwork.org.