UMMA News

Dear Friend of UMMA,

The change in seasons is upon us here as we usher in fall and all that it entails. The staff at UMMA are hard at work ensuring that our patients continue to have access to high quality care even given the challenging circumstances we find ourselves in. Recently, we learned that a new public charge designation was submitted to be included in the public record. The proposed change could have devastating impacts to the families we serve every day.

How you live your life and contribute to your community should mean more than what you look like or how much money you have. But the Trump Administration proposal makes immigration a pay-to-play game, putting the wealthy ahead of families who’ve waited years to be reunited. These days, working overtime isn’t enough to get by, let alone get ahead and many of our patients work two to three jobs to just get by. From SNAP and Section 8 rent vouchers to Medicare prescriptions and Medicaid coverage, public programs close the gap for families all over the state. And when Californian families can contribute to our economy, that makes things better for all of us.

But under the proposed “public charge” rule, using public programs can be counted against immigrants seeking lawful admission to the U.S. or applying for a “green card.” Every meal or doctor’s visit could put a loved-one’s immigration status at risk. It allows officials to consider not only an immigrant’s use of public programs, but also programs like Food Stamps and housing assistance that serve whole families.

It’s hard to overstate the consequences for California. As neighbors and community members lose access to nutritious meals, health care, or stable housing, every problem our state faces will worsen.

But there is hope, please voice your concern on this proposed change here.

Your voice and support of UMMA’s work helps us to uplift these voices and enables us to provide high quality care regardless of ability to pay. Please consider making an end of the year gift so we can enhance our services in the community.

Thank you,

Adel Syed

We love keeping our donors informed, and wanted to let you know that we will be moving to quarterly updates for the remainder of the year. Click here to view UMMA’s full Quarterly newsletter.

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive our quarterly newsletter! Keep an eye out for the Fall 2018 Edition this autumn!