In July, federal immigration agents took Milagro Solís-Portillo to Glendale Memorial Hospital outside Los Angeles after she suffered a medical emergency in custody. They never left the hospital.
For two weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contractors stood guard in the hospital lobby 24 hours a day, taking turns monitoring his movements, said Ming Tanigawa-Lau, Solis-Portillo’s attorney.
Then, ICE transferred the Salvadoran woman to Anaheim Global Medical Center, against medical instructions and without providing any explanation, according to the lawyer.
Tanigawa-Lau said that there, they allowed ICE agents to stay in Solís-Portillo’s room the entire time, listening to conversations between the patient and medical staff that should have been private.
Solis-Portillo told her lawyer that the officers pressured her to say she was well enough to leave the hospital, warning her that she could not contact her family or lawyer until she agreed to leave.
“She described it to me as a situation where she felt like she was being tortured,” Tanigawa-Lau said.
Legal experts say ICE agents can be in public areas of a hospital, such as the lobby, and accompany already detained patients while they receive medical care, reflecting the breadth of federal authority.
However, detained patients have rights and can attempt to defend themselves or seek legal help.
This year, California allocated $25 million to fund legal services for immigrants, and some local jurisdictions, including Orange County, Long Beach and San Francisco, also allocated funds for legal aid initiatives. The California Department of Human Services lists some nonprofit organizations that have received these funds.
Sophia Genovese, a supervising attorney and clinical professor at Georgetown Law School, explained that law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, can hold and even keep a person in their custody handcuffed while they receive medical care.
But they must comply with constitutional and medical privacy laws, regardless of the patient’s immigration status. Under these rules, patients can request to speak privately with medical providers and have confidential access to legal advice, Genovese explained.
“ICE should be located outside the room or out of earshot during any conversation between the patient and their doctor or health care provider,” Genovese said, adding that the same goes for communications with attorneys. “That’s what they’re supposed to do.”
ICE Guides
Regarding communication and visitation, ICE regulations state that detainees must have access to a telephone and be able to receive visits from family and friends, “within operational and security limits.” However, Genovese said these guidelines are not required by law.
If immigration officers arrest a person without a warrant, they must tell them the reason for the arrest and generally cannot detain them for more than 48 hours without making a formal decision regarding their custody.
A federal judge recently granted a temporary restraining order in a case in which a man named Bayron Rovidio Marín was monitored by immigration agents at a Los Angeles hospital for 37 days without being charged.
In the past, if violations were perceived by agents, they could be reported to local ICE offices, agency headquarters or oversight agencies, Genovese explained.
But this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cut staff at ombudsman offices charged with investigating complaints of civil rights violations, arguing that those offices “obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles.”
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said agents arrested Marin for being in the country illegally and that he admitted his immigration status to ICE agents. McLaughlin said he was taken to the hospital after injuring his leg while trying to escape federal agents during a raid.
McLaughlin said the officers did not stop him from communicating with his family or using the telephone.
“All detainees have access to phones that they can use to communicate with their families and lawyers,” he added.
McLaughlin called the judge who issued the temporary restraining order an “activist.” He did not respond to questions about staff reductions in the ombudsman’s offices.
DHS also said Solis-Portillo was in the country without authorization. According to the department, she had been deported from the United States twice and arrested on misdemeanor charges of using false identification, theft and unlawful entry into a dwelling.
“ICE takes seriously its commitment to providing a safe, secure and humane environment for those in our custody,” McLaughlin said. “From the moment a person enters ICE custody, there is a long-standing tradition of providing comprehensive medical care, including access to medical appointments and emergency care 24 hours a day.”
Protections in California
Anaheim Global Medical Center did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Dignity Health, which operates Glendale Memorial Hospital, said it “cannot legally restrict the presence of security personnel or law enforcement officers in public areas, including the hospital lobby or waiting areas.”
In September, California passed a law that prohibits medical facilities from allowing federal agents to enter private spaces — including spaces where patients receive care or discuss health issues — without presenting a valid search warrant or court order.
However, many of the most prominent news stories about the presence of immigration agents in health centers concerned detained patients who had been transferred for treatment there.
Erika Frank, vice president of legal counsel for the California Hospital Association, said hospitals have historically received detained people who need medical care from authorities, including federal agents.
According to Jan Emerson-Shea, spokesperson for the association, it is the authorities who decide whether a patient must be monitored at any time. If a law enforcement officer overhears medical information while present at the hospital, it does not constitute a violation of the patient’s privacy, he added.
“Legally, this is no different than another patient or visitor hearing information about someone in a nearby bed or emergency room,” Emerson-Shea said in a statement.
He did not say whether patients can request privacy from medical staff or their attorneys, and noted that hospitals do not notify family or friends of the location of a detained patient, for security reasons.
Sandy Reding, president of the California Nurses Association, visited the Glendale facility when Solís-Portillo was hospitalized. He said nurses and patients felt intimidated when they saw immigration officers wearing masks in the hospital lobby. He said he saw them sitting behind the desk where patients check in, where they could overhear conversations about private medical information.
“Hospitals used to be a safe place, but today they are no longer safe,” he said. “And it appears that ICE is acting without restrictions.”
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Nov. 18 on a proposal to provide greater protections for people detained in county-run health care facilities. These measures include limiting immigration officers’ ability to conceal patients’ identities, allowing patients to consent to the release of information to their family members and attorneys, and requiring staff to require immigration officers to leave the room at certain times to protect patient privacy. The county will also defend employees who attempt to enforce its policies.
Solís-Portillo’s attorney, Tanigawa-Lau, said her client ultimately decided to voluntarily return to El Salvador rather than pursue her case because she felt she could not receive the medical care she needed while in ICE detention.
“Even though Milagro’s case is truly terrible, I am happy that there is now more awareness about it,” Tanigawa-Lau said.
