Care of the Stranger: Medical Deportation of Noncitizens

Abstract

Research has documented the practice by some hospitals of effectuating the involuntary transport of their immigrant patients to their country of origin in situations in which the patients need long-term care but lack either the healthcare insurance or the personal funds to cover the cost of such care. The patients’ removal may ultimately lead to a worsening of their health, disability, or death due to the unavailability of the necessary care in the country to which they are sent or their inability to access the care due to financial, geographic, or other considerations. This chapter explores the ethical implications of this practice for providers, with reference to Biblical and Qur’anic views related to obligations toward strangers and resident aliens and current secular approaches. It is suggested that the scriptural obligation to provide safety and shelter to the stranger can serve as a framework for physicians and healthcare institutions in evaluating with the patient potential options for the resolution of this difficult situation.