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Lethal in Disguise 2

Executive summary Public protests have surged across the world in recent years, often led by grassroots movements seeking to challenge social and economic injustices, express discontent and demand transformative change from their governments. Economic inequity led to the 2018 “Yellow Vests” protests in France, and echoes of these protests were felt in the 2019 Chile protests, the […]

March 22, 2023
Press Release

No Duration of Detention is Safe for Children, Biden Administration Must Not Reinstate Family Detention of Migrants: PHR

In response to reports that the Biden administration is considering reinstating the policy of detaining migrant families, the following statement is attributable to Ranit Mishori, MD, MHS, senior medical advisor for Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine: “There is no ‘safe’ duration of detention for […]

March 8, 2023
Asylum
Press Release

190+ Organizations Urge UN Special Rapporteurs to Act on Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court Decision

More than 190 organizations and individuals, including health practitioners and human rights experts, today sent a letter to United Nations experts in response to the United States Supreme Court decision that repealed the constitutional right to abortion. The letter documents how abortion restrictions imposed in the wake of the court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson […]

March 2, 2023
Press Release

PHR Condemns Biden Administration’s Inhumane Plans to Expand Expedited Removals of Asylum Seekers under Title 42

NEW YORK – In response to this afternoon’s announcement by United States President Joe Biden of new “border security” measures along the southern border, which would expand expedited removals under Title 42, the following statement is attributable to Michele Heisler, MD, MPA, medical director at Physicians for Human Rights and professor of internal medicine and […]

January 5, 2023
Asylum
Press Release

“Shameful and Dangerous”: PHR Medical Director on Biden Title 42 Reversal

In response to news that the Biden administration would appeal a federal court’s decision that invalidated the Title 42 border expulsion order, the following quote is attributed to Michele Heisler, MD, MPA, medical director at Physicians for Human Rights and professor of public health and internal medicine at the University of Michigan: “The Biden administration’s […]

December 8, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

PHR Welcomes Judicial Decision to End Title 42, Warns of New Measures That Would Restrict Access to Asylum

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan’s decision to vacate Title 42, an order that was used to expel asylum seekers more than 2.4 million times with no due process into dangerous conditions in Mexico.   Title 42 – invoked in March 2020 by the Trump administration purportedly to defend against the […]

November 16, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

ACLU and PHR Renew Calls for ICE to End Force-Feeding Amid Release of Harrowing New Intercept Video

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union and Physicians for Human Rights renewed calls today for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end the practice of force-feeding detained people, and to end its reliance on mass immigration detention, after the Intercept obtained and released footage of the federal agency force-feeding a man engaged in a […]

November 15, 2022
Asylum
Blog

Doctors Who Knowingly Spread COVID-19 Lies Should be Held Accountable

Originally published by STAT, September 27, 2022. The California State Legislature has sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom that strengthens discipline for doctors who knowingly spread Covid-19 misinformation. Legislation like this is sorely needed across the country. More than two years into the pandemic, Covid-19 misinformation still runs rampant. Some comes from doctors spreading lies about unproven — […]

October 5, 2022
COVID-19, When Doctors Harm
Press Release

PHR Welcomes BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Decision to End Use of “Excited Delirium” Diagnosis

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes the decision by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to remove the invalid diagnosis “excited delirium” from the BART Police Department policy manual and all written reports.   BART’s policy change was informed by PHR’s 2022 report, “‘Excited Delirium’ and Deaths in Police Custody: The Deadly Impact of a Baseless Diagnosis,” […]

August 18, 2022
Excessive Force
Press Release

PHR Welcomes the End of “Draconian” Migrant Protection Protocols

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes yesterday’s U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s decision to lift the injunction that required the continued implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), also known as Remain in Mexico, which forced people seeking asylum in the United States to wait in often-dangerous environments in Mexico. We […]

August 9, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

Title 42 Has “No Basis in Public Health”: PHR Files Amicus Brief to Rescind Inhumane Border Policy

Medical experts and human rights advocates from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today highlighting key public health evidence in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) efforts to rescind Title 42 border expulsions. Since the policy was […]

August 2, 2022
Asylum, COVID-19
Press Release

PHR Welcomes Supreme Court Ruling on “Remain in Mexico” Policy, Calls for End to Title 42 Border Expulsions

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes today’s United States Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Biden v. Texas, holding that the Biden Administration can end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Enacted by the Trump administration in January 2019, MPP is a disastrous policy that has placed tens of […]

June 30, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

‘Irreparable Harms for Patients and Health Workers’: PHR Statement on Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization 

In response to the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization by the U.S. Supreme Court, the following statement is attributable to Payal Shah, J.D., director of PHR’s Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones:   “PHR condemns the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which rolls back reproductive rights in […]

June 24, 2022
Press Release

Title 42 Court Ruling Condemns Asylum Seekers to Persecution and Danger: PHR

In response to news that Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot move forward a plan to rescind Title 42 border expulsions, the following quote is attributable to Michele Heisler, MD, MPA, medical director at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) […]

May 20, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

“Shortsighted and a Failure of Leadership”: Congress and White House Must Act on Global COVID-19 Response and Vaccine Equity: PHR

In advance of the second Global COVID-19 Summit, co-hosted by the United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia, and Senegal, the following statement is attributable to Michele Heisler, MD, MPA, medical director at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and professor of public health and internal medicine at University of Michigan:  “As the world surpasses 15 million deaths […]

May 10, 2022
COVID-19
Press Release

If Confirmed, Roe Reversal Would Represent a ‘Dangerous and Appalling’ Rollback of Human Rights

In response to reports that the United States Supreme Court has prepared an initial majority draft decision which would overturn abortion rights, the following statement is attributable to Payal Shah, J.D., director of PHR’s Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones:  “If confirmed, the Supreme Court’s move to overturn Roe v. Wade would represent one […]

May 4, 2022
Sexual Violence
Blog

Six Priorities for New White House Coronavirus Coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes and congratulates Dr. Ashish Jha on his new position as the White House Coronavirus Coordinator, which he began this month. PHR is grateful for Dr. Jha’s service on our Board of Directors and wishes him well in this critical role. Dr. Jha takes up this new role at a […]

May 2, 2022
COVID-19
Press Release

Medical and Public Health Experts Call on Biden Administration to Not Delay Planned Repeal of ‘Devastating’ Title 42 Border Expulsions

Twelve leading medical and public health experts across the United States called on the Biden administration and Congress today to repeal the Title 42 border expulsions order as planned on May 23. In response to a Tuesday Axios report that the Biden administration is considering a delay of the repeal of the order in response […]

April 21, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

Federal Court Decision on Mask Mandates “Handcuff” U.S. Public Health Response to COVID-19

Following Monday’s ruling by a federal judge in Florida to strike down masking requirements on airplanes, trains, buses, and other public transportation, public health experts are concerned this decision sets a precedent in undermining the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) authority to guide and direct response to public health emergencies now and […]

April 20, 2022
COVID-19
Press Release

Parents Experience Severe Psychological Trauma Four Years After Family Separation by the U.S. Government: PHR Report

Three to four years after being separated from their children by the U.S. government, deported asylum-seeking parents continue to endure severe psychological trauma, according to a new investigation published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The report’s findings underscore the U.S. government’s unfulfilled obligation to provide remedy, rehabilitation, and redress to survivors of family […]

April 19, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

Informe de PHR: A cuatro años de la separación familiar forzada por parte del gobierno de los EE. UU. padres y madres continúan padeciendo un trauma psicológico severo

Tres o cuatro años después de haber sido separados de sus hijos por el gobierno de los EE. UU., los padres y madres solicitantes de asilo que fueron deportados continúan padeciendo un trauma psicológico severo, según la más reciente investigación publicada hoy por Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). Los hallazgos de esta investigación subrayan la […]

April 19, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

PHR Welcomes CDC’s Plans to Rescind “Scientifically Baseless and Politically Motivated” Title 42 Border Expulsions

Today the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its plans to rescind the Title 42 order, which the U.S. government has used to expel asylum seekers and other migrants almost two million times since its enactment in March 2020. While welcoming the long-delayed announcement, medical experts and human rights advocates from Physicians […]

April 1, 2022
Asylum
Press Release

“Excited Delirium” – Often Cited as Cause of Death in Fatal Police Encounters – Is Scientifically Meaningless: PHR Report

A new investigation published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) finds that “excited delirium” – often cited as a cause of death in fatal encounters with law enforcement – is not a valid medical diagnosis and should no longer be used by clinicians, attorneys, or law enforcement.   “‘Excited Delirium’ and Deaths in Police […]

March 2, 2022
Death Investigations, Excessive Force