Student Leaders at Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago Support Peers with DACA Status

Letter from Stritch School of Medicine Student Organization Leaders:

The Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine was the first medical school to openly welcome undocumented immigrants with DACA status to apply and matriculate as students. The recent removal of DACA threatens the future of our 32 colleagues (the most of any medical school in the United States) who have already invested so much in their efforts to improve the health of our country. They have overcome immense barriers, and competed on a level playing field to be members of our academic community. We find it necessary as student leaders to call for support of the bipartisan Dream Act, which would ensure protection of the future and safety of undocumented youth across the United States.

Loyola is a Jesuit institution; our mission is founded upon the principles of social justice and service to humanity. In pursuit of this mission, the training of a diverse physician workforce is paramount—people of all backgrounds should be admitted not only to promote equal opportunity, but also to deliver more culturally competent care across the socioeconomic spectrum of patients. Furthermore, our nation is experiencing a profound shortage of physicians, specifically those working in underserved communities—data has shown that underrepresented minorities go on to practice in these settings at significantly higher rates.

Contrary to persistent efforts made to portray them as criminals or freeloaders, 91% of DACA recipients are either employed or enrolled in school, even though they don’t qualify for federally subsidized student loans. Eligibility for DACA status requires that an undocumented immigrant arrive in this country prior to the age of sixteen and have been in this country at least five years without a criminal record. These individuals are contributing, tax-paying residents of the United States, the only country most have ever called home. In our own medical school and across the country, they make us a better society.

It is time for us to be advocates for our patients as well as our colleagues. This should not be a partisan issue; both liberal and conservative-leaning classmates of ours widely support the rights of our undocumented peers. They are the neighbors, classmates, and co-workers that make our communities strong. The Dream Act is a permanent solution for these undocumented individuals which gives them both a path to legal status, and more importantly, protection from deportation. We call upon leaders in the medical community, alumni of Jesuit education, and Americans of all walks of life to seek justice for our peers of DACA status. Now more than ever it is imperative to make our voices heard.

Signed,

Rana Alcheikh
Society of Women’s Health, Co-President

Lexi Riopelle
Society of Women’s Health, Co-President

Elizabeth Southworth
Building the Next Generation of Future Physicians (Academic Medicine), Co-President

Christian Perez
PSYCH MIND, Co-President

Kyle Wieschhaus
Viva La Familia, President

Elizabeth Southworth
PULSE- Pipeline program, Co-Coordinator

Brittany Watchmaker
Pediatric Interest Group, President
PULSE- Pipeline program, Co-Coordinator

Jenny Lee
Building the Next Generation of Future Physicians (Academic Medicine), Secretary
PSYCH MIND, Vice President

Jacquelyn Dang
LUC Mentors, Co-Director
Mission of Our Lady of Angels, Leadership Board

Dylan Douglas
Quinn Community Center, Secretary

Maria Poonawalla
Students for a National Health Program, Co-President

Laura Burns
Oncology Interest Group, President

Brandon Trac
Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, President

Yo Sup Kim
Radiation Oncology Interest Group, President

Jazzmyne Montgomery
American Medical Women’s Association, President

Taylor Petrusevski
Emergency Medicine Interest Group, Secretary

Eric J. Magnetta
Students Curious in Outrageous Pathology Experiences, President

Lauren Steinberg
Oncology Interest Group, Vice President
Jewish Student Association, President

Diamond Stevens
Student National Medical Association, Vice President

Kathryn Swain
Cardiovascular Interest Group, Vice President

Jennifer Shieh
Ultrasound Interest Group, Vice President

Naveen Kanji
South Asian Medical Student Association, Co-President
LUC Mentors, Co-Director
Health Career Academy, Co-Director

Boss Povieng
ATC Health Coaching, Co-Coordinator

Eda Akyar
Community Health Primary Care Clinic, Clinic Coordinator

Sarah Lloyd
Family Medicine Interest Group, Vice President
American Medical Women’s Association, Vice President-Mentorship

Aaron Perlow
M1 Class Board 2021, President

Deena Kishawi
Muslim Medical Student Association, President
Physicians for Human Rights, President
Orthopedic Surgery Interest Group, President

Weston Terrasse
Business in Medicine Interest Group, President
Otolaryngology Interest Group, Vice President

Andia Mitri
Community Health Primary Care Clinic, Fundraising Chair

Grant Van der Voort
Community Health Primary Care Clinic, Fundraising

John Wagner
New Life Volunteering Society Free Health Clinic, President
Veteran Health Partners, President
Housing Forward, Co-Coordinator

Tanesha Beebe
Stritch Pride, President

Hollie Schaffer
Otolaryngology Interest Group, President
Community Health Primary Care Clinic, Fundraising Comittee

Yaeji Park
Vascular Surgery Interest Group, President

Patrick Kramer
M4 Class Board, Class of 2018, President

Brandon Carlos Karcher
Latino Medical Student Association, President

Blake Murphy
American Medical Association SSOM Chapter, President

Andrea Grillini
Community Health Phlebotomy Clinic, Co-Coordinator
Bioethics Interest Group, Vice President

Khalil Boussi
Back On My Feet, President

Vlad Didorchuk
Ophthalmology Interest Group, President

Mitra Mossaddad
M3 Class Board, Class of 2019, President

Matthew Kroll
Jewish Student Association, President

Gabrielle Matias
Neurological Surgery Interest Group, Co-President
Community Health Primary Care Clinic, EMR Chair

Bria Murray
Student National Medical Association, Treasurer

Charles Wu
Community Health Primary Care Clinic, Treasurer

Kimber Sable
Ophthalmology Interest Group, Vice President
Student Wellness Advisory Group, Co-President

Jamie Neelon
PRIDE, Vice President
SCIPEC, Co-President
Surgery Interest Group

Sahand Ghodrati
M2 Class Board, Class of 2020, President