- SCGC
- Jul 8
- 3 min read
As Southern California Genetic Counselors, we are an organization dedicated to advocating for the genetic counseling profession and access to genetic counseling services. We acknowledge that in the last few weeks, our undocumented patients, colleagues, co-workers, and students may be living in fear for their safety and the safety of their loved ones. We stand in solidarity with the community leaders, grassroots organizations, and citizens working to protect immigrant communities across southern California. Our code of ethics as genetic counselors asks us to “provide genetic counseling services to [our] clients regardless of [our] clients’ abilities, age, culture, religion, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation and gender identity.” (NSGC Code of Ethics, Section II) As allied healthcare professionals, we must also do so regardless of immigration status.
Southern California has witnessed a significant increase in the amount of arrests made by immigration officers on undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. In response to the immigration raids targeting predominantly Hispanic and Latin populations, the people of Los Angeles have demonstrated an outpouring of support for their community. We have seen many cities across southern California and the country show up to protect their undocumented neighbors.
Immigration raids are not exclusive to California. There has been an overwhelming increase in immigration-related arrests across the country. Immigrants are being targeted while at courthouses, on the street, at community hospitals, and even at church. The impact of these raids has left documented immigrants concerned for their safety. The threat of arrest and deportation without due process, even in once considered “safe” spaces has led to undocumented individuals to cancel important healthcare appointments.
Our profession of genetic counselors is enriched by our undocumented colleagues and DACA students. We acknowledge that there are many institutional policies that make it challenging for undocumented students to pursue this profession. We encourage all genetic counselors to learn how they can better support their undocumented/DACA students or patients by reviewing the resources put together by the Undocumented GC Network.
We encourage our colleagues to review the resources we provided below on how we can show our support to our patients and community members.
For our colleagues that work in a hospital or clinic setting, we invite you to review the following resources on how you can protect your patients from immigration enforcement:
For our colleagues working in academia, we hope that you will find these resources useful:
General Resources:
