National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union of registered nurses, issued the following statement in reaction to the Trump administration’s announcement that immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota will phase out next week:

“Union nurses are beyond proud of the people of Minnesota for refusing to be divided, under the harshest of conditions, for more than two months under siege by our own federal government. When working-class people stand in unbreakable solidarity, we have the power to fight back against the billionaire-class, the fascist administration that they bankroll, and the masked ICE and CBP agents who have used extreme terror and violence to try to crush our solidarity and intimidate us all into compliance.

The courage of everyday Minnesotans, and the advocacy of nurses across the country, who immediately rose up to demand justice for the murder of our union nurse brother Alex Pretti, RN, deserve to be celebrated at this moment. The people of Minnesota have provided an example for us all of what it really looks like to live by the principles of care, compassion, and mutual aid, as community members brought each other food, shared transportation, and spoke up and stood up for those who didn’t have a voice, even when their advocacy was met with violence — including the murder of Renee Good and Pretti.

If ICE completely left Minnesota tomorrow, it wouldn’t be soon enough. But nurses also want to be clear that the harm that has already been done is unforgivable, long-lasting, and cannot be resolved by the Trump administration’s claims that ICE will be retreating from one state — only to potentially surge again or invade communities in other states. The only true solution is to completely abolish ICE. We must remember, too, that this administration stole nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and Medicare to largely subsidize ICE and related agencies — a tragedy to working people that is less visible but must be reversed.

Nurses emphasize that there is no way to reform a violent, out-of-control agency where officers have already committed countless injuries with impunity, including breaking a Minnesota resident’s skull in eight places, and causing a multi-car accident and injuries during a high-speech chase. During their Minnesota surge, federal agents have also detained immigrants, including children, in inhumane conditions without enough food, in extremely cold temperatures, in environments where infectious diseases can spread, and without health care or access to legal aid. Patients have missed necessary medical care due to fear of leaving home to visit hospitals, and nurses know that negative health outcomes can linger for a very long time due to months of missed care.

Nurses are also concerned about the long-term impacts of the ‘toxic stress’ triggered by ICE violence. During the Minnesota surge, children and families have spent months experiencing federal agents tackling, beating, pepper spraying, and violently detaining family members and neighbors. Community members have witnessed unspeakable violence, including the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on public streets. Toxic stress is especially dangerous for children, and it can impact their mental and physical health for the rest of their lives. Toxic stress increases children’s risk for illnesses such as depression, diabetes, asthma, cancer and heart disease, among others.

When ICE leaves Minnesota, they leave behind unhealed injuries, children without parents, and countless people facing an entire lifetime of trauma. That’s why National Nurses United remains clear and unwavering in our demands: no further funding for ICE, take away the $140 billion slush fund given to ICE and CBP in H.R.1, and abolish ICE. Calls by some members of Congress to simply reiterate existing legal protections, like requiring judicial warrants for arrests, completely fail to recognize the reality we are living. ICE and this administration have made clear that they have no intention of abiding by the law.

We are past the point of reforms. Since its inception over 20 years ago, ICE has proven that its mission has never been about keeping our communities safe. Abolish ICE now.”

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.