ICE is suddenly showing up in California hospitals. Workers want more guidance on what to do

"They may come to the emergency room, bringing in someone who's suffering a medical crisis while being detained. They may wait in the lobby, as agents did for two weeks at an L.A.-area hospital waiting for a woman to be discharged. Or they may even chase people inside, as federal agents did at a Southern California surgical center. The sight of these agents often armed and with covered faces makes many wary and may keep people from seeking care."

""This is nothing new to hospitals, said Lois Richardson, vice president and counsel at the California Hospital Association. We get inmates, detainees, arrestees all the time, whether it's police, sheriff, highway patrol, ICE, whatever it is. The job for hospital workers remains to provide care, she added, and not to get involved in disputes over why a person is in custody.""

Federal immigration agents increasingly appear at California medical facilities in various situations. They arrive at emergency rooms with detained patients in medical crisis, wait in hospital lobbies for days while someone is discharged, and sometimes pursue individuals inside surgical centers. Many agents are armed and wear covered faces, which contributes to wariness among patients and may discourage people from seeking care. Hospitals rely on existing policies to handle persons brought in under arrest, and staff emphasize providing care rather than engaging in custody disputes. Immigration attorneys, advocates, and health workers raise concerns about visitation protocols, patient legal and privacy rights, and safety risks for workers.

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