SIR takes stand against Trump's executive order on immigration

The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) joined the outcry against President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries, saying it will impede education, training and international care, particularly in those nations that lack healthcare resources.

Companies of all sizes and industries have issued statements condemning the ban, and SIR President Charles E. Ray Jr. added his voice to the tumult.

“Interventional radiology relies on academic discourse, innovation and continuing medical education to deliver quality patient care,” the statement read. "As such, limiting the movement of active physicians, researchers and health care professionals puts such advances in jeopardy by constraining collaboration, education, research and innovation that contribute to optimal patient outcomes."

Ray also touched on the SIR Annual Meeting, to be held in Washington, D.C., in early March, saying that the ban is counter to the principles of collaboration that underpin the conference. More than 5,000 scientists and researchers from 35 countries are planning to attend.

The ban has far-reaching implications outside of interventional radiology. Immigrants make up 16 percent of all healthcare jobs in the U.S., and certain occupations have even larger proportions of immigrants in their ranks; a quarter of physicians and surgeons are foreign-born.

Additionally, the rushed implementation of the executive order has already caused problems in healthcare. A Syrian-born resident studying outside of Chicago was unable to board his flight to O’Hare from the United Arab Emirates, and a security officer labeled his visa as “cancelled.” However, the judges around the country have blocked various aspects of the executive order, allowing Amer Al Homssi, MD, to land in Chicago Thursday morning.

“SIR stands committed to promoting diversity and inclusiveness and welcomes collaboration from all interventional radiology professionals,” said Ray. “We call on our national leaders to eliminate barriers to scientific exchange and medical education.”