A major nurses union is holding secretive training sessions for union members to learn how to “fight” federal immigration enforcement in their hospitals.
An email reviewed by The Daily Wire reveals that the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is promoting training sessions for nurses to resist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in hospitals.
ONA, which represents around 15,000 nurses, is the largest nurses union in Oregon. As an affiliate of National Nurses United—the largest nurses union in the United States—ONA also wields influence at the national level.
Notably, the email says that the sessions will not be recorded or posted publicly, adding a secretive element to the training sessions.
The email addresses “ONA members” with the subject line, “Trainings: Accountability for ICE” and reads as follows:
“As frontline healthcare workers, we are entrusted with a fundamental responsibility: to preserve life, reduce harm, and provide care with dignity to everyone who comes through our doors,” the email continues. “As ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) activity increases across Oregon, that responsibility is in jeopardy. Intimidation and the use of force create fear that keeps immigrant communities from seeking care and until conditions become life-threatening. This fear directly interferes with our ethical, professional, and legal duties and endangers lives rather than protecting public safety.”
The training sessions were promoted as being run by ONA’s “Legal and Government Relations teams,” advancing “critical training and opportunity to join the fight against ICE and CBP in our hospitals.”
ONA offered two sessions, one early Wednesday, and one Thursday morning.
“The trainings will provide essential context on our role in this fight, practical guidance for frontline staff, and updates on our collective advocacy efforts,” nurses are told.
Credit: The Daily Wire
Specifically, the training promised to cover nurses’ “legal rights and obligations as a healthcare worker if ICE or CBP enter your facility,” “ONA’s efforts to hold ICE accountable,” and “Opportunities to engage in ONA’s upcoming legislative fight to ensure hospitals remain places of healing.”
“Please note: Trainings will not be recorded or posted online. All attendees must register in advance. Anyone represented by ONA may attend,” the email added.
A registered nurse who received the email and attended one of the training sessions told The Daily Wire they found it odd that the sessions would not be posted publicly. “My question is WHY? Are they afraid that what they are ‘training’ is possibly against the law?” the nurse posed.
The RN said the training session, in part, talked about legislation restricting ICE near hospitals, churches, and community centers.
The Daily Wire reached out to ONA about the training sessions and asked why they are explicitly being kept from the public.
An email from ONA Director of Communications Peter Starzynski defended the training sessions, accusing “unaccountable immigration enforcement” of “increasingly overstepping its authority and treading on the rights of local communities in Oregon—including patients, hospitals, and healthcare providers.”
“This places nurses in an extraordinarily difficult position of providing care to patients in a manner that is consistent with their professional obligations,” Starzynski said.
The communications director said the training sessions focus on the following:
It remains unclear why the training sessions are not made public.
ONA also posted to its Facebook page on January 25 about its participation in a vigil for Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents during an encounter in Minneapolis last week. The incident is under investigation.
“We must not standby. We must stand up against injustice and human rights violations. That is exactly what Alex Pretti was doing,” the post said. “He deserves justice. We honor his legacy and call on all major healthcare systems in Oregon to stand up for nurses, publicly denounce this killing and hold ICE and similar federal agencies accountable.”
Facebook: ONA
In a lengthy statement on Pretti, ONA said, “A nurse’s job is to care for their patients — but they are also ethically bound to speak out in the face of injustice and human rights violations. Provision 8.2 of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses is clear: ‘Where there are human rights violations, nurses ought to and must stand up for those rights and demand accountability.’ That is exactly what Alex was doing.”
Starzynski also told The Daily Wire that “hospitals can only function when everyone who enters follows the same rules” and “no federal agency should be above protocols designed to protect patients, healthcare workers, and the integrity of medical care.”
“Taxpayer dollars should not be used to undermine public health, violate basic rights, or erode trust in institutions meant to keep our communities safe,” he said. “For months, ONA has urged hospitals to support frontline caregivers by complying with state and federal patient protections. Throughout it all, ONA members have remained steadfast in their commitment to ensuring our hospitals are places of care, dignity, and healing for everyone.”
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