ICE agents block Boyle Heights hospital's ER entrance, sparking protest
Federal agents lined up at White Memorial's ambulance entrance and the hospital diverted ambulances for about two hours. Neighbors and leaders marched there Saturday.
By LA This Weekend Team · November 9, 20261 view
Federal immigration agents brought a person in their custody to the emergency room at Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights late Friday night, Nov. 6, then lined up across the hospital's ambulance entrance, NBC Los Angeles and CBS Los Angeles reported. The hospital said it sent ambulances to nearby hospitals for about two hours. On Saturday, neighbors, advocates and elected leaders marched to the hospital in protest.
What to know
- A hospital spokesperson told NBC Los Angeles that agents formed a line across the ambulance entrance, "which we did not request nor authorize," and that ambulances were diverted for about two hours.
- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said two U.S. citizens were later arrested and charged with assaulting a federal officer, NBC Los Angeles reported. Details of the alleged assaults were not released. LAPD said its officers came to keep the peace and did not help with immigration enforcement.
- Saturday's march went from Mariachi Plaza to the hospital at 1720 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., City News Service reported in The Eastsider. Mayor-elect Nithya Raman, state Sen. María Elena Durazo and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado spoke out, and Mayor Karen Bass called for an end to immigration enforcement in and around health care facilities.
- Hospital president Daniel Fontoura told reporters that ICE "was not at our invitation," CBS Los Angeles reported, and the hospital said it does not take part in immigration enforcement. ICE said it does not discuss operations and that it "does not target hospitals, schools, or churches."
- Federal law lets ICE agents into public areas of hospitals, such as parking lots, while a California law, SB 81, bars them from private areas like patient rooms without a warrant or court order, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Our take
An emergency room only works if people trust it enough to walk in. For families in Boyle Heights, the bigger worry now is whether a sick parent or child will wait too long to get help. Leaders have asked the hospital for clear answers, and neighbors deserve to hear them. Have you or someone you know put off care because of fear? How should the hospital earn back that trust?
Sources
- NBC Los Angeles: ICE agents' presence at Boyle Heights hospital prompts community response
- CBS Los Angeles: Protesters gather outside Boyle Heights hospital after ICE agents bring person to ER
- ABC7: Protest erupts at Boyle Heights hospital after ICE transports patient, blocks ambulance entrance
- The Eastsider: Raman joins Boyle Heights protest after ICE activity at White Memorial
- Los Angeles Times: Raman, L.A. leaders join in condemnation after ICE officers detain two near Boyle Heights hospital
File photo: Hospital buildings in Boyle Heights, including White Memorial Medical Center (cropped), by Downtowngal, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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LA This Weekend Team