Alameda Health System officials told the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oct. 27, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were allowed into a patient's room at Highland Hospital in Oakland even though they did not show a warrant, Oakland North reports.
Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas said a health system official had earlier told her a warrant had been provided. "I am very upset to hear today that the information I thought was true on Monday, that this was an arrest with a warrant is not true," she said at the meeting.
What happened
According to Oakland North, ICE officers brought Eduardo Antonio Ruiz-Garcia, originally from Honduras, to Highland for broken ribs on Oct. 16 after taking him into custody in Emeryville. He stayed six days before being discharged back into ICE custody. His attorney, Nikolas De Bremaeker of Centro Legal de la Raza, told supervisors ICE never provided a judicial warrant and did not provide an administrative warrant until days later. He alleged an officer fractured six of Ruiz-Garcia's ribs by sitting on his chest after tackling him, and that agents asked staff about private medical information and tried to direct treatment.
ICE alleges Ruiz-Garcia tried to assault officers during the arrest and refused commands, and says he had a pre-existing injury from a fall from a ladder two days earlier.
The hospital's answer
Kayla Bowen, the health system's associate general counsel, said staff requested a copy of a warrant and were not given anything. She said protocol is for staff to focus on care and escalate legal questions to an administrator on call, and that care does not depend on seeing a warrant. CEO James Jackson said, "If we did not have the documentation, we should have had," and later said he had been misinformed. He rejected any suggestion that the hospital colluded with ICE.
Oakland North notes that California law bars health providers from letting immigration officers into nonpublic areas without a judicial warrant, with an exception when officers are accompanying a person already in their custody. Several Highland workers, including nurse Claire Chalmers, told the board staff had not been adequately trained. East Bay Insiders reports speakers also raised allegations that ICE used a loading dock near the hospital morgue as a staging area, and notes the incident raises questions about the county's new ICE-free zones ordinance, which covers Highland. Supervisor Nate Miley urged a thorough investigation and warned against confrontations with agents.
Supervisors asked the health system for a critical incident review as soon as possible. For background on the arrest, see our earlier report.