Pediatricians are seeing harmful effects across their varied U.S. communities, including retreat from seeking medical care and accessing public services.
ITASCA, IL--Many pediatricians perceived that immigrant families in their practices have avoided seeking medical care and applying for eligible public benefits because of concern about immigration enforcement, according to a national study from the American Academy of Pediatrics. They also perceived that some families were keeping children home from school because of similar concerns.
The study, “Pediatricians’ Perceptions Regarding Immigrant Families Accessing Services: A National Survey,” published in the October 2026 Pediatrics (published online Sept. 15), presents an analysis of a survey completed by 1,654 pediatricians between April and June 2026. The survey was conducted as part of the ongoing Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study (PLACES), created in 2012, that provides a representative group of pediatricians who practice primary care and subspecialty care across the United States.
Researchers observed that federal government actions expanded immigration enforcement in unprecedented ways beginning in 2025. The federal government rolled back previous policy limiting arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at public spaces such as hospitals, clinics, and schools.
“Pediatricians are often frontline witnesses to how harmful policy changes or actions affect children and their overall health and well-being,” said AAP Chief Medical Officer Lee Beers, MD, FAAP. “This new research puts data behind the concerns pediatricians have been raising for months about the immigrant families in their care. Many families are canceling or missing their doctor appointments, avoiding vital public health benefits they are eligible for or keeping their children home from school out of fear. This chilling effect has serious short- and long-term consequences for child health.”
The pediatricians surveyed were asked: “To your knowledge, in the past 12 months, have any of your patients or families you care for avoided the following due to concerns around a patient’s or family member’s immigration status?” Response options were: yes, no, and unsure. They were asked about three specific categories: if families avoided “seeking medical care for their child;” “applying for a government program such as Medicaid/CHIP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-SNAP);” and “sending their child to school.”
On average, pediatricians estimated 26% of their patients are in families who immigrated to the United States. Four in 10 pediatricians reported such families avoided seeking medical care for their child out of concern for the patient or family’s immigration status. About 30% reported immigrant families avoided applying for government programs, and 21% reported families avoided sending their child to school.
This research also shows this to be an undercount in terms of the number of patients who are going without care and are impacted. Additional support is likely needed to bolster pediatricians' ability to identify and address these concerns in a sensitive way that ensures family safety and confidentiality.
The authors conclude that pediatricians are seeing current harmful effects across their varied U.S. communities, including retreat from seeking medical care and accessing public services.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.