Hospitals no longer protected from immigration raids
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security lifted the practice of avoiding immigration enforcement at hospitals.
Article By: Kara Arundel and Sydney Halleman
Blog Source From : https://www.healthcaredive.com/

Hospitals will no longer be off limits for immigration enforcement operations under a directive announced by the new Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.
The directive ends the practice of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents avoiding “sensitive” areas — including elementary and secondary schools, colleges, hospitals and churches — for enforcement actions.
The announcement came on the first full day of President Donald Trump’s second administration. Trump had promised to enforce more border policies throughout his campaign.
In a statement on Tuesday, a DHS spokesperson said the new policy empowers ICE and CBP actions “to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murders and rapists — who have illegally come into our country.”
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
Under the Biden administration, medical and mental healthcare facilities were designated as “protected areas,” meaning ICE should refrain from conducting enforcement actions “to the fullest extent possible.”
Protected areas included hospitals, doctor’s offices, urgent care centers, community health centers, vaccination or testing cites, health clinics and sites that serve pregnant individuals.
Physicians for Human Rights, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the new directive could deter immigrants from seeking medical care.
“This chilling effect will have dangerous consequences on communities across the country,” said Michele Heisler, medical director at PHR and professor of public health and internal medicine at the University of Michigan. “Pregnant women afraid of immigration enforcement at hospitals will forego safe delivery; people sick will be fearful to visit a doctor.”
Schools and other places where children, teens and young adults gather, such as playgrounds, recreation centers, child care centers, school bus stops, colleges, vocational or trade schools, preschools and elementary and secondary schools, were also stripped of their protected status.
Although the exact number of undocumented children and families is unclear, data from the Migration Policy Institute shows about 5.5 million children under age 18 were living with an unauthorized immigrant parent as of 2019. That’s about 7% of the U.S. child population at that time.