{"id":473887,"date":"2025-08-26T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?post_type=newspack_nl_cpt&p=473887"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:06:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T16:06:53","slug":"ice-hospitals-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"newspack_nl_cpt","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_zh\/newsletter\/ice-hospitals-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE agents create fear at California hospitals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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People stand on the stairs at an entrance of Dignity Health-Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, on July 17, 2025. Photo by Robyn Beck, AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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As President Donald Trump\u2019s administration continues its crackdown on immigration, concerns about how medical facilities should deal with immigration enforcement agents are growing among attorneys, advocates and health workers<\/a>, write CalMatters\u2019 \u5b89\u5a1c\u00b7B\u00b7\u4f0a\u74e6\u62c9<\/a> \u548c \u9ec4\u514b\u8389\u4e1d\u6c40<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigration agents and law enforcement officers typically roll up to hospitals because someone they were detaining is suffering from a medical crisis. Protocols exist for these agents or officers when they\u2019re handling a detainee or arrestee. But recent high-profile immigration cases are raising alarms about whether current guidelines are enough to protect hospital workers and the legal and privacy rights of patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 15 days in July, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents occupied Dignity Health\u2019s Glendale Memorial Hospital. They were waiting for one patient, an immigrant from El Salvador, to be discharged for medical care following their detention. Agents stood behind reception desks<\/a> in the lobby while demonstrators gathered outside the hospital protesting ICE\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospital officials said in a statement they can\u2019t prohibit law enforcement from being in public areas. Though agents can\u2019t roam around the facilities unchecked, the rules are murkier when they bring in someone who is in their custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State law and the HIPPA Privacy Rule also require hospitals to protect patients\u2019 personal and health information. Some disclosures are required if law enforcement can prove lawful custody or provide an appropriate warrant \u2014 though administrative warrants from ICE do not require immediate access to information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n