Sanctuary debate: What should immigration enforcement look like at hospitals?

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—For the US Border Patrol agents standing outside her hospital door, moving a young undocumented immigrant with cerebral palsy into deportation proceedings days after she received emergency surgery was a matter of following policy.

For the girl, 10-year-old Rosa Maria Hernandez, an already traumatic few days – which had seen her rushed from her home in Laredo, Texas, to a hospital in Corpus Christi a few hours away – had taken another confusing turn.

For immigration attorneys, medical professionals, and advocacy groups, the aggressive pursuit of undocumented immigrants ordered by President Trump has crossed into territory once thought unacceptable. (The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit this week, and the government released her today.)

Hospitals, schools, and places of worship are among the “sensitive locations” identified by federal immigration agencies as places where arrests should be avoided. After incidents like Rosa Maria’s arrest, however, officials are now wondering just how sensitive they really are, and whether they need more formal legal defenses against immigration agents.

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