Contemporary Immigration & Migrant Health: Navigating Medical & Legal Uncertainty

Описание: UCSF Family & Community Grand Rounds

April 6, 2026

In the medical and legal professions, we are faced with unprecedented levels of uncertainty and ambiguity that have caused sadness, frustration, and moral distress.

This presentation will describe the effects of uncertainty on the current medicolegal landscape in the context of contemporary immigration and migrant health. It will also provide moments of personal reflection through a panel of physicians, attorneys, and community leaders with expertise in human rights and building resilience. This panel hoped to facilitate a space where uncertainty is openly acknowledged and discussed, and that the audience will leave with enhanced resilience strategies.

Speakers
Mariam (Mimi) Carson, MS, is a 4th year medical student at UCSF and is a member of the UCSF Human Rights Collaborative. From 2022 to 2023 and served as clinic coordinator, where she led operations for the adult asylum clinic with 100% of adjudicated cases granted asylum. During her third year clinical rotations, she returned to the Human Rights Collaborative to conduct monthly forensic medical evaluations under the guidance of Dr. Triveni DeFries and Dr. Coleen Kivlahan. Carson now serves on the Student Advisory Board for Physicians for Human Rights, an internationally recognized humanitarian organization that specializes in investigating and documenting human rights violations. She plans to continue this work as she enters her first year of residency at UCSF Family & Community Medicine at SFGH this summer.

Coleen Kivlahan MD, MSPH is Professor Emerita of UCSF Family and Community Medicine, Medical Consultant to the Human Rights Clinic (HRC), provides pro-bono asylum evaluations in partnership with medical students, faculty and lawyers, and is Medical Director for Synergy for Justice, a female led NGO where she is an experienced international expert and trainer in forensic medical evaluations of human rights violations.

Amanda Maya is Program Director of the Immigrant Justice program at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Previously, she was a Senior Attorney at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), representing unaccompanied children and families in complex asylum cases and leading statewide trainings. She began her career at Orrick, working on civil rights litigation including cases challenging ICE detention practices and family separation policies. She is a graduate of Berkeley Law and Cornell University.

Dr. Dawn Gross is a hospice and palliative care physician, writer, and speaker. Trained at Tufts and Stanford, she transitioned to palliative medicine after a personal loss and developed an innovative approach to healing grief called “I SEE YOU (ICU) for the Soul.” She hosts the radio program Dying to Talk, has published widely, and shares stories about what matters most in her TEDx talk and book Heart Sounds.

Kenan Arun is an LGBTQ+ activist, artist, and Executive Director of the LGBT Asylum Project – Center for Immigrant Protection. With over 15 years of advocacy experience in Turkey and the U.S., he also works as a makeup designer with Golden Thread Productions and volunteers with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. He is deeply committed to advancing LGBTQ+ rights and supporting immigrant communities.