A significant chorus of over 1,100 healthcare professionals from across Europe has issued a stern warning to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), urging them to reject proposed legislation aimed at escalating the deportation of individuals without legal residency. These medical practitioners contend that the measures could jeopardise public health by transforming vital public services, including hospitals, into extensions of immigration enforcement agencies.
These draft plans, slated for a parliamentary vote, have been under development since March of the previous year. The European Commission initially put forward its proposal with the intention of targeting individuals lacking the legal right to remain within the EU. This included the controversial possibility of transferring them to offshore centres located in countries outside the European Union.
The impetus for these measures appears to stem from the increased influence of far-right parties in the 2024 European Parliament elections. They form a part of a wider strategic overhaul by the EU to reshape its approach to migration management.
As the vote approaches, representing one of the final stages before inter-institutional negotiations commence on the definitive text, doctors and nurses hailing from a diverse range of countries, including Portugal, Ireland, and Greece, have added their voices to an open letter articulating their profound concerns.
“We refuse to become instruments of immigration enforcement,” the letter emphatically states.
Disseminated in six different languages and circulated to MEPs in advance of the crucial vote, the letter highlights the far-reaching implications of the proposed policies. It argues that “Behind technical language lies a profound transformation of our societies and the destruction of the social fabric.”
Core Concerns: Identification and Profiling
At the crux of the healthcare professionals’ anxieties is a proposed mandate requiring all member states to implement broad, yet vaguely defined, detection mechanisms to identify individuals without legal status. The letter warns that “In practice, this risks legitimising racial profiling, and turning schools, hospitals, shelters, workplaces, public transport and even private homes into sites of immigration enforcement.”
Furthermore, the proposals could compel healthcare workers to report individuals without legal residency. This is viewed as a direct affront to their ethical obligations, specifically the duty to safeguard patient confidentiality and ensure unimpeded access to medical care.
The Chilling Effect on Public Health
The anticipated outcome of such measures is a pervasive “climate of fear” that could actively discourage individuals from seeking necessary medical attention. The letter underscores this danger: “When people are afraid to access care, everyone’s health is at risk.” It further elaborates that this trend “erodes trust in social services and threatens public health, as it is already happening in countries like the US, where ICE-style raids occur daily.”
Anna Miller, Head of UK Policy and Advocacy at Doctors of the World UK, shared insights from their experience. She noted that in the UK, where regulations introduced in 2017 mandate that hospitals charge most undocumented migrants upfront for various forms of hospital-based medical care, the impact has been palpable.
“In our clinics in the UK we see patients too afraid to go forward to the NHS in case it leads to an ICE-style raid at their home address,” Miller stated. “This EU regulation risks creating the same climate of fear across the EU, driving people away from healthcare services, with serious consequences for individuals and for public health systems as a whole.”
EU Commission’s Rationale and Campaigner Opposition
When the European Commission initially announced these proposals last year, they were framed as “effective and modern procedures” designed to enhance the deportation of individuals whose asylum claims have been denied or who have overstayed their visas. Currently, approximately one in every five individuals without the legal right to remain is returned to their country of origin, a statistic that has remained largely consistent in recent years.
However, advocacy groups have long voiced their objections to these proposed measures, cautioning that they risk transforming everyday environments, public services, and community interactions into tools for immigration enforcement, akin to practices seen in countries with aggressive deportation policies.
In February, a joint statement from 75 rights organisations asserted that the plans “would consolidate a punitive system, fuelled by far-right rhetoric and based on racialised suspicion, denunciation, detention and deportation.” This declaration followed closely on the heels of a letter from 16 UN rights experts, who outlined more than a dozen concerns regarding the potential for these plans to contravene international human rights obligations.
Detrimental Impact of Detention
The healthcare professionals’ open letter also raised alarms about the potential increase in the number of individuals, including children, subjected to detention, both within and beyond Europe’s borders. The letter highlights the well-documented adverse health consequences associated with detention, including:
- Respiratory and infectious diseases
- Severe anxiety and depression
- Sleep disorders
- Retraumatisation
- Acute psychiatric needs
- Higher incidences of suicide
The letter particularly emphasised the devastating and long-lasting impact of detention on children, stating, “In the case of children, the impact of detention is devastating and long-lasting; it will never be in their best interests and is prohibited under international law.”
A Call for Health Over Enforcement
The open letter was coordinated by Médecins du Monde. The organisation is actively appealing to EU institutions to eliminate any provisions that could serve as a deterrent to individuals seeking healthcare. Andrea Soler of Médecins du Monde stated, “Migration enforcement cannot come at the expense of the right to health.” She concluded, “The EU must ensure that its migration policies protect public health, uphold medical ethics and guarantee safe access to healthcare for all, regardless of migration status.”
