SEATTLE—On Jan. 27, President Trump announced Executive Order 13769, "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States." The following statement is attributable to Washington State Nurses Association Executive Director Judy Huntington, MN, RN:
President Trump’s executive order to ban travel and immigration to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, including refugees fleeing violence, is antithetical to the purpose of the Washington State Nurses Association and threatens nursing’s ability to meet the health care needs of our patients.
WSNA’s Statements of Purpose include: “These purposes shall be unrestricted by considerations of age, color, creed, disability, gender, health status, lifestyle, nationality, race, religion or sexual orientation.” In other words, there is no place for discrimination based on one’s religion or nationality as we work to improve health standards, extend the availability of health services to all people, foster high standards of nursing, and promote the professional development and economic and general welfare of nurses.
Trump’s order also represents a very real threat to our ability to provide health care. In the United States, more than 2 million health care workers - including more than 200,000 nurses - are foreign-born.
WSNA’s membership represents nurses from many countries and of many faiths. Adherence to the principles of inclusion and respect is fundamental to who we are as an organization and our commitment to our patients. We oppose any executive or Congressional action that broadly targets people of a particular religion or nationality as President Trump’s executive order does.
About WSNA
WSNA is the leading voice and advocate for more than 68,000 Registered Nurses in Washington state, providing support, resources and education that allow nurses to reach their full professional potential and focus on caring for patients and our communities. As a union, WSNA represents more than 17,000 registered nurses who provide care in hospitals, clinics, schools and community and public health settings across the state.