There was a time not long ago when law enforcement officers treated hospitals as sanctuary spaces. The same applied to churches, schools, clinics, and other places where people sought critical services.
It appears that time is over.
The Trump administration’s latest directive removes protections that once kept Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of healthcare facilities. Immigrants may now face arrest while seeking medical care, including reproductive healthcare.
For abortion providers like me, this raises an urgent question: How do we protect our patients when the places designed to keep them safe are no longer off-limits?
Hospitals Fair Game for Arrests
Under new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rules, ICE and other border protection agents can now arrest undocumented immigrants in hospitals, clinics, and other previously protected areas.
For years, healthcare facilities were covered under a sensitive locations policy, meaning law enforcement could not make arrests except in extreme cases. That protection is now gone.
ICE agents can enter hospitals freely, arresting undocumented patients during or even before medical treatment. DHS claims that lifting these protections will make enforcement more “effective,”—but what it does is push undocumented immigrants and those who share their home into the shadows, afraid to seek care even in life-threatening situations.
This conflicts directly with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a 1986 federal law that requires hospitals to provide emergency medical care to anyone without discrimination, even undocumented immigrants.
But what if patients are too afraid to walk through the door?
At some hospitals, staff are already forced to navigate the legal and ethical minefield of ICE’s new policies. Confusion over
federal law compliance is leaving patients and providers in dangerous limbo.
Hospitals must follow EMTALA, which mandates care for all patients regardless of immigration status, but what happens when federal immigration agents demand access? If a doctor treats an undocumented patient and ICE intervenes, is that doctor aiding and abetting? If a hospital refuses to comply, is it obstructing law enforcement?
The lack of clarity has a chilling effect on medical professionals just trying to do their jobs.
Hospitals in states like California and Massachusetts have responded by doubling down on patient privacy protections, training staff to recognize ICE warrants, and resisting voluntary information-sharing. Meanwhile, in Texas and Florida, hospitals are now required to ask about a patient’s immigration status—a policy that discourages undocumented people from seeking treatment at all.
The FACE Act No Longer Protects Abortion Clinics
Immigration law isn’t the only thing changing. Legal protections for abortion providers like my clinic, Desert Star Institute for Family Planning, are also disappearing.
For nearly three decades, the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act) made it illegal to block clinic entrances, threaten providers, or harass patients. But Trump’s Justice Department is rolling back FACE Act enforcement—effectively giving
anti-abortion extremists free rein to disrupt clinics.
In 2021, an anti-abortion activist barricaded himself inside a Planned Parenthood bathroom in Philadelphia, forcing an evacuation and shutting down the clinic for the day. Federal prosecutors pursued a FACE Act case against the activist, hoping to deter similar acts of intimidation.
But under Trump’s new DOJ, that case has been dropped, along with at least three other FACE Act cases against anti-abortion activists. Trump has pardoned 23 people convicted under the FACE Act, sending a clear message: clinic blockades, harassment, and threats against providers will no longer be prosecuted.
So now, immigrants are unsafe in hospitals. Abortion providers are unprotected in clinics. Patients seeking care are at risk in both places.
Churches Lost Their Sanctuary Status. Healthcare Is Next.
Churches have traditionally provided sanctuary for undocumented immigrants and others in need of safe harbor. People sought shelter inside because churches were off-limits to law enforcement. However, that changed with Trump’s second term.
Axios recently reported that Trump’s new executive orders have
stripped churches of their sanctuary status. The same protections that once kept ICE from storming into places of worship are now gone. And if ICE can raid a church, why would a hospital be any different?
The message they’re sending is clear: Nowhere is safe. But ask yourself if we want to let them make that true.
Healthcare Must Remain a Safe Space
I do not provide care based on who has the right paperwork. I do not turn patients away because they fear deportation. I do not allow law enforcement to weaponize my clinic against the people I serve.
Sanctuary is not just a government policy. It’s a choice we, as healthcare providers, must actively make.
If you are a hospital administrator, ask yourself: Does my hospital require immigration disclosure? If so, am I complicit in deterring patients from seeking care? If you are a doctor or nurse, ask yourself: Would I comply with an ICE request for patient information, or would I demand a subpoena? If you are a patient, ask yourself: Does my provider put my safety over their fear of liability?
Just because our government is changing how it enforces the law, we don’t have to retreat from our ethical obligations to our patients.
We are here to care for people, not to collaborate with those who want to harm them. We can’t afford to comply in advance. We must stand between unjust policies and the people they threaten.
That is what sanctuary means.
How to Take Action
- Know your rights. The ACLU offers legal resources for patients and providers facing law enforcement intrusion.
- Secure your clinic or hospital. Do not allow ICE access without a subpoena.
- Support immigrant-led health organizations. Groups like RAICES and the National Immigration Law Center are fighting back.
We can still make our sanctuary spaces safe, but only if we choose to.
