AMA votes to keep ICE officials out of hospitals

The American Medical Association House of Delegates voted against allowing federal immigration officials in hospitals at its interim meeting in Honolulu.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy normally prohibits agents from enforcing immigration policies through interviews, searches or arrests in "sensitive locations" such as hospitals. However, instances do occasionally occur. For example, the AMA cites a case in which a 10-year-old patient with cerebral palsy was taken into custody by ICE agents shortly after discharge from a surgery.

"Our patients should not fear that entering a hospital will result in arrests or deportation. In medical facilities, patients and families should be focused on recovery and their health, not the ramifications of their immigration status," Andrew Gurman, MD, immediate past president of the AMA, said in a press release.

 

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