Community Health & Wellness

Hospitals warned to be ready for interactions with immigration officers

The Washington State Hospital Association is advising members to prepare for possible interactions with immigration officers, following the Trump Administration’s decision to roll back existing federal protections.

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Pledging to significantly increase deportations, the administration has rescinded guidelines barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from taking actions near “sensitive locations,” like schools, churches or health care facilities. So far, state hospitals have not reported interactions with immigration enforcement, according to the WSHA

A spokesperson for Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the parent company of St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor and St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale, did not respond to a list of questions. They referred communications to the WSHA. 

Jennifer Kreidler-Moss, CEO of Peninsula Community Health  Services in Bremerton, said they had informed staff their clinics across Kitsap and North Mason county are no longer designated as sensitive locations. 

“We also fortunately have employed legal staff to help us answer questions as they come up,” she said in a text message. “We feel confident that we can rely on our established relationships … where we may have questions.” 

In a statement, WSHA spokesperson Tim Pfarr said hospitals in the state will strive to be safe for everyone regardless of immigration or citizenship status and are  “taking steps to provide increased protections to immigrant communities,” including education staff on how to control access to facilities and verify the validity of requests from law enforcement. 

Pfarr said demands from immigration agents alone are not sufficient to gain access to patients or restricted areas. Staff should only respond to properly executed court orders or warrants, he said. They are also being instructed not to confirm or deny the presence of patients to ICE. 

“If there is a court order or a judicial warrant, hospitals must comply with it,” the association wrote in a statement. “However, Washington State hospitals will continue to follow all state and federal privacy laws and will not provide identifying information about patients except as required in the laws.”