State legislators in California, troubled by reports of mistreatment involving immigration detainees at medical facilities, are advancing measures designed to enhance safeguards for patients brought to hospitals by federal immigration officers.
Two pieces of legislation currently progressing through California’s Senate aim to stop immigration enforcement personnel from cutting off detained patients from family contact and blocking access to legal representation. Legislative analyses for both proposals reference investigative reporting by KFF Health News that documented significant challenges faced by relatives and lawyers trying to locate and assist hospitalized individuals held in immigration detention.
The KFF Health News investigation revealed that certain medical facilities have enabled patient isolation through what are termed blackout policies, which may involve registering individuals using false names, excluding their names from hospital directories, and barring staff from alerting patients’ families about their location and medical status.
Legislation introduced by Democratic state Sen. Caroline Menjivar from the San Fernando Valley, designated SB 915, would mostly ban blackout policies for immigration detainees and guarantee their right to have family members and others informed about their location and medical condition. Such policies would only be permitted when healthcare providers determine a patient poses a documented credible threat to themselves or others, with that risk recorded in medical files. The measure would also guarantee patients’ visitation rights.
The proposal addresses documented cases of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers standing guard over patients during medical examinations and physician consultations, meddling in treatment decisions, and pressuring for early discharge to detention centers lacking adequate follow-up medical capabilities.
“These are actions that have no place in health care, and it is a clear violation of the patients’ rights,” Menjivar said.
Menjivar’s legislation would bar agents from entering patient rooms unless they can demonstrate legal authority for their presence. When agents remain present, medical staff would be required to request their departure during examinations and care discussions. Healthcare facility personnel would need to document instances when agents refuse to leave.
SB 1323, introduced by state Sen. Susan Rubio, a Democrat representing the San Gabriel Valley, would mandate that healthcare providers educate staff and appropriate volunteers about responding when patients request family notification, and require posting notices at facility entrances detailing visitation and access procedures. While existing law permits patients to consent to family notification of their hospitalization, Rubio’s measure seeks to ensure staff understand this applies to immigration detainees as well.
The federal Department of Homeland Security, which manages immigration enforcement operations, did not provide comment when contacted.
Both measures passed Senate Health and Judiciary committees on party-line votes and await consideration by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Over 20 immigrant advocacy organizations and healthcare professionals expressed support for enhanced patient protections during a recent committee hearing.
“This state must do everything in its power to protect against these abuses and ensure detainees have the right to contact their loved ones when they are hospitalized and in critical conditions,” said Hector Pereyra, political manager with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
Representatives from the California Hospital Association and California Medical Association expressed concerns to lawmakers that requiring healthcare workers to record agents’ identification numbers and ask them to exit patient rooms could generate confrontations and create safety hazards.
“While we understand that this is an important issue, we want to ensure the bill strikes the right balance and does not create conflicting or unclear obligations for hospitals and their staff and clinicians, particularly in real-time interactions with federal officers,” said Vanessa Gonzalez, a vice president of state advocacy for the hospital association.
KFF Health News documented the case of 43-year-old Julio César Peña, who remained at a Victorville hospital for nearly two weeks before his legal counsel and family discovered his whereabouts. Peña, who suffered from terminal kidney disease, was restrained to his hospital bed, monitored by immigration agents, and instructed not to reveal his location, his wife reported. He subsequently experienced a seizure requiring intubation and rendering him unconscious, yet his family received no notification. Peña passed away on February 25, fewer than two months after being released to return home.
Immigration advocates, healthcare professionals, and legislators worry similar situations are occurring throughout California.
Menjivar explained her legislation “seeks to close the gap between existing law and practice by empowering health care provider entities with the tools to uphold the privacy, health, and visitation rights of a patient brought in under immigration custody.”
SB 915 would prevent hospitals and clinics from permitting immigration officers to make patient treatment decisions or serve as interpreters. Medical facilities would be required to document and verify immigration officers’ identities when feasible, ensure patients have access to communication devices, and educate patients about their rights. Facilities would also need to conduct discharge planning that includes coordination efforts with receiving facilities like detention centers to guarantee continued patient care.
These measures follow legislation enacted last year designed to restrict immigration enforcement at medical facilities, including prohibiting healthcare establishments from admitting federal agents lacking valid search warrants or court orders into private areas. However, that previous law did not cover circumstances involving patients already in immigration detention.
“ICE has instilled fear in our hospitals and has kept us from doing our job,” said SatKartar Khalsa, an emergency medicine resident at a safety net hospital in San Francisco who has treated detained patients and testified in support of SB 915. “This has all led to worse care for our patients and has added another layer of fear among health care workers.”
