Recent federal executive orders and policy changes have ramped up immigration enforcement and the threat of deportation and family separation. These harsh policy changes have already inflicted significant damage on our communities’ well-being including fear and anxiety. This led the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) to create the Illinois Alliance for Welcoming Healthcare. The Alliance’s goal is to create a welcoming environment for everyone in every healthcare institution in Illinois.

The Alliance's members and community leaders have come together…

• Providing quality health care regardless of a person’s race, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, religion or ethnicity; 

  
  

• Educating relevant staff on the rights of patients (consumers) and resources regardless of immigration status; 

  
  

• Establishing relationships with immigrant serving community organizations in our communities; 

  
  

• Not asking for or sharing patients’ information that can endanger their safety or immigration status; 

  
  

• Creating a physically welcoming environment for all.