Across the country, and here in California, as federal agents continue aggressive immigration enforcement, questions have been popping up among health care providers and patients alike about their security when accessing hospital care and other resources.
Hospitals — especially those caring for patients in San Diego and Imperial counties, which share an international border with Mexico — have always focused, and will continue to focus, on the needs of people seeking care. As a matter of practice and law, hospitals do not ask patients about their immigration status.
As your organizations navigate the growing intensity of local immigration enforcement, these resources may be helpful:
- Earlier this month, the HASD&IC team held a Know Your Rights training in collaboration with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego attended by more than 50 frontline hospital staff. Resources shared include:
- Earlier this year, the California Hospital Association shared a comprehensive legal analysis of the intersection of state law and federal activities and actions around immigration enforcement, which is intended to support hospitals as they continue to care for patients.
As work continues on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which would cut more than $800 billion from the Medicaid program over the next 10 years — and additional state budget discussions are expected to take place later in the year, the health care landscape is constantly shifting and under increasing duress.
Yet, the mission and commitment of all hospitals remains the same: to care for the sick and injured without regard to a patient’s ethnicity, national origin, or citizenship status.
No matter what unfolds at the federal level, health providers in San Diego and Imperial counties will continue to heal and care for those in need.