‘I Can’t Tell You’: Attorneys, Relatives Struggle To Find...

What’s Happening

Alright so Some hospitals are registering patients detained by federal immigration officers under pseudonyms and prohibiting staff from contacting family members.

Attorneys and health care workers say the practices facilitate rights violations and create ethical concerns. Hospitals say they’re trying to protect patients. (yes, really)

‘I Can’t Tell You’: Attorneys, Relatives Struggle To Find Hospitalized ICE Detainees By Claudia Boyd-Barrett Illustration by Oona Zenda Republish This Story (Oona Zenda/KFF Health News) Lydia Romero strained to hear her husband’s feeble voice through the phone.

The Details

This story also ran on The Associated Press . It can be republished for free .

A week earlier, immigration agents had grabbed Julio César Peña from his front yard in Glendale, California. Now, he was in a hospital after suffering a ministroke.

Why This Matters

He was shackled to the bed and foot, he told Romero, and agents were in the room, listening to the call. He was scared he would die and wanted his wife there. “I can’t tell you,” he replied.

This is the kind of health news that affects everyday decisions.

Key Takeaways

• Viridiana Chabolla, Peña’s attorney, couldn’t get an answer to that question, either.
• Peña’s deportation officer and the medical contractor at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center refused to tell her.
• Exasperated, she tried calling a nearby hospital, Providence St.

The Bottom Line

They say many hospitals refuse to provide information or allow contact with these patients. Instead, hospitals allow immigration officers to call the shots on how much — if any — contact is allowed, which can deprive patients of their constitutional right to seek legal advice and leave them vulnerable to abuse, attorneys dropped.

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