Utah News Dispatch
Pediatricians say bill denying resources to immigrants without papers would harm their patients
Pediatrician Katie Gradick speaks with a colleague at the Utah Capitol on Feb. 17, 2026. (Annie Knox, Utah News Dispatch)
As Utah lawmakers moved on to their next agenda item at the Capitol and lobbyists went home for the night, Dr. Katie Gradick left in tears.
“I feel ashamed — of our government, of our country, of this state,” Gradick, a pediatric palliative care physician, said Tuesday.
Moments earlier, a legislative committee voted to support a bill blocking unauthorized immigrants over the age of 18 from public assistance ranging from vouchers for baby food to housing and vaccine programs. In a reversal during the public hearing, the bill’s sponsor said he would leave untouched a state low-income health coverage program for children without legal immigration status.
But Gradick and two fellow pediatricians at Primary Children’s Hospital — emphasizing they were speaking on their own behalf and not for their employer — are still worried. They said other parts of the bill would make it harder for families to afford groceries and would reduce vaccine uptake, allowing for greater spread of diseases like measles, the flu, and whooping cough that pose grave risks to their young patients with weakened immune systems and affect the broader community.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
“I see the public health implications from very far, and it’s really alarming to me,” said Dr. Erin Avondet.
Gradick said her mind was on one patient in particular: a young boy with cancer who loves the Elephant & Piggie book series featuring two best friends learning about empathy and sharing.
“He’s scared of dying. He prays every day to the same God that these people pray to, that he’ll get better,” Gradick told Utah News Dispatch. “His parents pay taxes.”
The doctors saidUtah’s Children’s Health Insurance Program for low-income Utahns, including those without legal status, allows the boy to get treatment for cancer, Gradick said. She and her colleagues noted the program, though spared this year, is up for renewal in 2028 and could come under scrutiny again.
The lawmaker behind HB88, Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, has said his goal is to persuade immigrants without papers to leave the state.
In presenting his bill to a House law enforcement committee on Tuesday, Lee made a case that the bill would benefit Utah by dissuading other unauthorized immigrants from moving to the state.
Lee said it ensures U.S. citizens are the ones benefitting from programs that use taxpayer funds and nothing is stopping charities from using private donations to help immigrants without legal permission to stay in the country.
“This bill is the responsible response, to say, ‘We need to make sure that we take care of those who are citizens first with this money,’” Lee said.
To make sure it’s enforced, the measure would open government employees up to criminal prosecution for failing to verify an applicant’s legal status and expose leaders of state agencies to civil lawsuits if they violate the law on purpose.
Critics cast the bill as a money pit, saying it would invite legal challenges that would be expensive for the state to defend. A lawsuit over a similar Idaho law is pending.
“I think this bill is fiscally irresponsible, and outside of that, I think this bill is cruel,” said Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, before voting against the proposal.
Organizations serving victims of domestic violence and providing mental health and substance abuse treatment said the bill would require them to verify a person’s immigration status and turn away anyone who doesn’t have identification with them. The pediatricians said those who want vaccines but don’t have ID will face the same problem.
One of the three doctors, Sarah Schear, testified on behalf of the Utah chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tuesday, urging the committee to vote against the proposal. After the hearing, she said she’s cared for many children in the last year who fell very ill with infections that vaccines can prevent.
“Speaking personally, coming from my own spiritual background, I believe strongly in providing for our neighbors, supporting our neighbors, just like the Good Samaritan,” Schear said. “Those are the values that I grew up with and want to see our public policy reflect. This bill does not.”
The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee advanced the measure in a 7-3 vote, including a vote in favor from Lee. It awaits a vote in the full House.
