Pediatricians raise the alarm on the effect of Trump's immigration crackdown on kids
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Pediatricians → raise → kids
MARYLAND — On a hot summer day earlier this year, a mother left a troubling voice message on this reporter's WhatsApp.
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mother → leave → WhatsApp
"My child woke up this morning feeling like he was suffocating.
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he → wake → ?
I am worried," she said in Spanish.
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she → say → Spanish
The boy had a history of asthma, she added.
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she → have → asthma
The woman asked to be referred to by her first initial, M, because although her son is a U.S. citizen, she and her husband are undocumented.
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she → ask → initial
In response to being told she should seek professional medical help, M said she had been debating whether to take him to the local clinic, worried that she could be detained by immigration enforcement.
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she → tell → enforcement
It's a troubling pattern that has emerged in immigrant communities: staying away from medical care due to fear.
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that → emerge → fear
"All the roads northbound have had ICE operations on them," she said in another voice message.
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she → have → message
She was worried about getting detained.
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She → detain → ?
She decided to wait it out.
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She → decide → it
A new national survey, conducted between April and June 2026 by the American Academy of Pediatrics, found that 40% of pediatricians have noticed families staying away from care due to immigration concerns.
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families → conduct → concerns
Thirty percent said they've seen families who are hesitant to apply for public health services and support, such as Medicaid.
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who → say → Medicaid
They also noted that there are families in their practice who are avoiding sending their children to school.
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who → note → school
Dr. Lee Beers, the academy's chief medical officer, says keeping children away from school has health implications.
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keeping → say → implications
"They can receive health services within the school.
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They → receive → school
They can receive mental health services.
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They → receive → services
It's a place where caring and supportive adults can help identify if there's an emerging health issue or mental health issue."
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adults → help → ?
"His lips were turning blue"
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lips → turn → ?
Back in southern Maryland, the boy was taking a turn for the worse.
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boy → take → worse
M recalled how pale he was.
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he → recall → ?
"His lips were turning blue."
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lips → turn → ?
They took the bus to the local clinic.
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They → take → clinic
It was nighttime, and when they got there, the doctor told her the child was in serious condition.
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child → get → condition
He was given oxygen.
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He → give → oxygen
In another voice message, she says, her son has been medevaced to Washington, D.C. "Please," she says.
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she → say → Washington
"Let him be ok."
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him → let → ?
She was told to meet them at the hospital.
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She → tell → hospital
"And now I'm wondering whether I will be safe in an Uber.
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I → wonder → Uber
If my whole family drives, what happens if we get stopped.
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we → drive → ?
Do ICE agents board public transportation?"
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agents → board → transportation
A nurse at the Maryland clinic paid for an Uber.
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nurse → pay → Uber
"I just passed by the Washington Monument," she says in another message.
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she → pass → message
She called it the needle.
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She → call → it
This feels dangerous."
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This → feel → ?
As she got closer to the hospital, another fear: that she might be asked for her immigration papers.
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she → get → papers
A quiet shift in immigration enforcement
Legally, hospitals can ask for immigration status — in Florida and Texas they are required to in order to report on healthcare costs of undocumented patients.
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they → ask → patients
In both states, patients have the right to refuse to answer questions about immigration status.
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patients → have → status
But across the U.S., hospitals cannot deny emergency care because of immigration status.
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hospitals → deny → status
Recently, there's been another reason for immigrants — including those here legally — to be apprehensive about seeking medical care.
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immigrants → be → care
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
