In Case You Haven't Heard…

In the face of an unprecedented crackdown on immigrants living in the United States — some documented, some undocumented but innocent of any other “crime,” and many having lived here for years — as well as the threat to birthright citizenship — people are understandably afraid. They're afraid to go shopping. They're afraid to go to the doctor. And they're afraid to send their kids to school, because they might not there to welcome them home at the end of the day. Of course, they are also afraid to seek help for substance use problems. An added wrinkle is the loss of privacy promised by the Trump White House. The Legal Action Center last week released a guide for treatment providers to prepare for potential immigration enforcement actions, provide accurate information to patients, and understand their legal obligations to maintain patient confidentiality. For the guide, go to https://www.lac.org/assets/files/Responding‐to‐ICE‐for‐Part‐2‐programs_Feb‐25.pdf . We will write more about this next week.