Health care workers at St. John’s Community Health clinic in South Los Angeles are bracing for the possibility of decreased patient visits due to heightened fear of immigration raids. Ana Ruth Varela, a community health worker at the clinic, says that many patients are too scared to leave their homes.
“I spoke with one patient who said, ‘I don’t know if I should go to my appointment. Should I cancel?’” Varela shared. “I told her, ‘Just come.’”
The growing fear stems from the Trump administration’s policies on immigration. Under his leadership, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been a significant concern for immigrant communities. In particular, many immigrants are worried about mass deportations.
For years, a policy existed that protected certain “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals, and health centers, from ICE arrests. However, this policy was one of the first to be overturned by President Trump after he took office. On January 21, Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Benjamine Huffman rescinded the directive, with DHS explaining that this change would help agents target immigrants who have committed crimes.
The abrupt change caught many off guard. Darryn Harris, chief government affairs and community relations officer at St. John’s, said, “I thought we had more time.”
To prepare, Harris is overseeing training for more than 1,000 St. John’s workers to help them understand constitutional rights and learn how to identify warrants issued by ICE. The clinic staff will also educate patients on their rights during ICE encounters.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has offered guidance to clinics in response to the policy shift. Bonta recommends that clinics display information about patients’ right to remain silent and provide contact details for legal-aid groups. He also encourages health providers to avoid including immigration status in medical records and bills. Though clinics are not required to obstruct immigration agents, they do not have to assist in any arrests.
Although some immigration arrests occurred in hospitals during Trump’s first term, many health care facilities still followed the “sensitive locations” policy. DHS, however, claims that these protections hindered law enforcement efforts by creating safe zones for individuals without legal status to avoid capture.
Matt Lopas, director of advocacy at the National Immigration Law Center, emphasizes the importance of health centers training staff to read and assess warrants. “It’s crucial that every health care center has someone trained to determine the validity of a warrant,” Lopas said.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Zenaida Aguilera is responsible for ensuring proper warrant procedures at La Clínica de La Raza, which operates 31 community clinics. Aguilera, who is the clinic network’s compliance, privacy, and risk officer, is also overseeing training for hundreds of staff members. She has already trained about 250 workers and has many more to go.
With California having the largest population of immigrants without legal status, Aguilera fears the state could become a target for increased immigration enforcement. In 2022, there were about 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., with California alone accounting for nearly 2 million.
To prepare, La Clínica is posting information about patients’ constitutional rights and offering resources such as legal-aid contacts in their clinics.
Aguilera expressed frustration about the situation, saying, “We just want to care for our patients. We didn’t sign up to train staff on what to do if ICE shows up at our doors.”
Related topics:
