AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD, issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that President Trump had authority to issue Proclamation 9645, which restricts foreign nationals from specified predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States:
“We are deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision. As we expressed in our amicus briefs challenging the various executive actions over the past year and a half, nationality-based exclusions will worsen the nation’s health professions shortage and impair our ability to advance medicine and protect public health. With its conclusion that this proclamation is within the president’s statutory discretion, the debate now shifts to Congress. The AAMC will continue its efforts to educate legislators about the direct link between fair immigration policies and the health of Americans, and to advocate for immigration policies that recognize the critical role that health professionals from other countries play in safeguarding our nation’s health security.”
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 are all 154 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 more than 173,000 full-time faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences.