Nearly one in four U.S. children is an immigrant. Dr. Julie Linton spoke in a plenary session reviewing the impact of current federal policies on clinical care and identify opportunities for AAP members to support children in immigrant families. Doximity caught up with Dr. Linton after the session.

Julie Linton, MD: So, I am the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants, and so I think it resonates personally with me but much more so is the stories of the children, and families for whom I care, and with whom I partner in my work, and the impact of policy on their health and well-being.

One in four children lives in an immigrant family, meaning that child or at least one parent was born outside of the United States. I think first and foremost we have a responsibility to provide kind, compassionate, and high-quality care to all children regardless of the immigration status of them or their parents. There’s a lot of fear that is being driven by some unintentional, and some intentional rhetoric regarding criminalization of immigrants, and separation of immigrants as “them”. When in fact, the immigrant population contributes immensely to our economy, and contributes immensely to the prosperity of our nation, a nation of immigrants and a nation of all of us.