Dear Members of the UCSF Community,

As you likely have heard, the government recently issued a change to a federal immigration policy that puts in jeopardy the life of one our patients at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and other patients across the United States. The outcry from the public, media, elected officials, and health care community has prompted the federal administration to delay action on this policy.

Yesterday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would postpone immediate elimination of the “humanitarian medical deferred action” program and reopen patient cases that were shut on August 7. This program has allowed immigrants to avoid deportation while they or their families receive medical treatment not available in their own countries. The decision refers only to those cases that were pending on August 7 and does not address long-term implications for our patient, Isabel Bueso, and others. We are continuing to monitor this issue closely, working with Isabel and her family.

In the meantime if you would like to learn more about Isabel and express your concern, visit the Change.org webpage that her family has established to advocate on her behalf.

Isabel, who has been treated by our physicians at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland for more than 16 years, with weekly, six-hour infusions, was ordered by USCIS to leave the country in 33 days or be deported without an opportunity to appeal the decision.

Isabel came to the U.S. from Guatemala at...