An 18-month-old baby waddled over to his father, who was lying immobile on the floor of their home. The father, although clearly happy to see his son, wheezed as the baby tumbled onto his chest. The father “Ahmad” struggled to breathe. His paralyzed legs outstretched in front of him on the floor, and slowly, he shut his eyes while his wife told their story.

This family, who had struggled to survive in their home country, came to a new place based on a promise of protection, and actively served their community. But they lost their only way to pay their medical bills when Medicaid cuts took effect on Oct. 1. The law eliminates refugees and asylees without green cards from Medicaid access.

Ahmad’s family escaped from a war-torn country and entered the U.S. following all of the rules. They have legal status and are waiting for green cards, which have a backlog of longer than two years. The backlog exists because this administration has prioritized chaotic enforcement instead of processing applications. The U.S. promised to protect people, then pulled the rug out from under their feet by saying we don’t care if you live.

The mother “Laila” splits her time between caring for Ahmad and her four children during the day, then leaves at night to work as a home caregiver, paid by a Medicaid plan, for someone else. Her job does not offer any healthcare benefits, but it is the only one flexible enough to allow her to tend to her at-home responsibilities while still making an income.

Laila cares for someone else, even though her family’s access to healthcare was cut. Ahmad has accepted that without medical care, he will die. Laila cried as she also came to that conclusion. The baby, who is still too young to understand, took a nap.

Considering social work is one of our service pillars, we follow a code of ethics that roots us in humanity. And with those roots in mind, we think about the human impact of changes like losing Medicaid.