Unauthorized immigrants (UIs) face many obstacles in obtaining health care, often delaying treatment for diseases until they are life-threatening. The limited scope of resources for this population can be mitigated by increasing access to emergency insurance, which may be acquired for emergent conditions as defined by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). We suggest certain dermatologic diseases be defined as emergent, including cutaneous malignancies such as melanoma, Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythroderma, cicatricial pemphigoid, and pemphigus vulgaris, among others. Classification of these conditions as medical emergencies is justified as each manifest with symptoms of sufficient severity to result in rapid deterioration and death in the absence of treatment. Thus, appropriate care may require transfer from clinics or hospitals with limited resources to institutions with specialized capabilities of treatment. Defining what constitutes a dermatologic emergency and developing appropriate guidelines for characterizing such conditions is imperative to propose legislation intended to cover costs for patients with these conditions. At present, each institution should consider developing protocols specifying which cutaneous conditions are emergent, taking into consideration the needs represented within their community. Dermatologists play a critical role in advocating for unauthorized immigrants to apply for emergency insurance by providing letters for patients to take to local state Medicaid offices. Letters should include the diagnosis, the emergent nature of the condition, and include any pertinent studies that may have been performed previously in a free clinic, such as pathology reports and imaging studies.