AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision that the Trump administration did not provide adequate justification for terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:
“The AAMC applauds the Supreme Court’s ruling today, which leaves the DACA program in place. DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of law-abiding, tax-paying individuals to contribute to our country in countless ways. We are particularly appreciative that the ruling will allow almost 30,000 health care workers to continue to provide care to millions of patients across the country as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
With this ruling, DACA remains intact, pending further administrative action. We urge the president to leave the DACA program and associated work authorizations in place and call on Congress to enact a path to citizenship for these individuals.”
The AAMC filed an amicus brief on behalf of 33 health professional organizations – including the American Medical Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the American Nurses Association, and others – in support of DACA recipients.
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members comprise all 155 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC serves the leaders of America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals and their 173,000 faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. Additional information about the AAMC and its member medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org.