A person in an inflatable pink axolotl costume and a woman in red scrubs standing by a road holding signs that say "Nurses say abolish ICE" and "ICE not welcome here" — Credit: Dave Decker/Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

Nurses in Largo joined colleagues nationwide this week in naming federal immigration enforcement agencies as one of the country’s greatest public health threats.

At the HCA Florida Largo Hospital on Thursday, chapter members for National Nurses United—the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses—made their stance known. Dressed in bright colors and costumes, nurses held signs reading “Nurses say Abolish ICE” and “ICE not welcome here” while waving at cars driving by the hospital.

The union is calling on Congress to stop funding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Custom and Border Patrol (CBP).

This comes in the wake of two Minneapolis killings by ICE. ICU Veterans Administration nurse Alex Pretti, was shot multiple times by Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez last month. Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot in January by ICE officer Jonathan Ross.

Nurses in Largo on Thursday advocated for hospitals to protect patients from ICE.

“A lot of hospitals … they’re either encouraging or just not creating policies to protect their patients that are in the hospitals.” Chief Nurse Representative, Keosha Morris told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

“We have HIPPA that protects patients from being known about their whereabouts and confidentiality, but it seems like all of that is going out of the window in certain areas just to aid ICE’s agenda to lock up people who are essentially seeking help or even are citizens just ’cause they look a certain way.”