First lady Melania Trump’s visit Wednesday to see what Boston Medical Center is doing to help babies born addicted to opiates wasn’t welcomed by everyone at the hospital.

More than 150 BMC employees walked out to protest President Trump’s policy on immigration and what they called his racist rhetoric.

“We’re here, standing in solidarity with the community to show we’re not complicit,” said Erica Pike, program manager of the hospital’s pediatric community-engagement network.

Because Boston Medical Center has a large patient population of immigrants and people of color, some employees said they feared the first lady’s presence could scare off patients.

“The big fear is our patients are not going to feel safe coming here,” said Dr. Eduardo Garza, a family medicine and psychiatry resident. “We want them to know we will give them exceptional care, without exception.”

Marisol De Ornelas, a clinical research associate in the pediatric department, said she felt ambivalent about the first lady’s visit.

“I’m torn because Melania Trump is bringing a good cause to light, but we do need to stand in solidarity with our patients who are affected by this administration’s policies,” De Ornelas said. “A lot of our patients are immigrants who are scared every day. … She is bringing a lot to a really important cause. But the Trump administration’s racist rhetoric and anti-immigrant policies go against our core values, and at the end of the day, Melania is part of that administration. Maybe this is all a show to show they care about this (opioid) epidemic.”