Dear Members of the UCSF Community:

This week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized a new rule that would change “public charge” policies, expanding the conditions under which DHS could reject green cards for those who are deemed likely to become dependent on government aid, including public health and nutritional benefits. This move is antithetical to UCSF’s values of health equality and dignity of all people.

University of California President Janet Napolitano issued a statement yesterday, saying this new rule “sends a detrimental message internationally — that the United States does not want other countries to send their best and brightest here to study and add to the intellectual exchange at our universities, to conduct important research, and to contribute substantially to our economy, among other things.” Read her full statement.

On behalf of the leadership at UCSF, I want to echo President Napolitano’s concerns about the chilling...