Under the Biden Administration, immigration enforcement is prohibited in protected areas such as medical and mental healthcare facilities, hospitals, schools, as well as various other locations that can be found here. The only exceptions to immigration enforcement in these areas are under limited circumstances that greatly affect national security and public safety. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are not allowed to restrain or limit an individual’s access to essential services such as visiting the hospital.

This policy varies from previous sensitive location memos because the locations have been increased from “sensitive locations” to “protected areas” in order to clarify where enforcement actions will be avoided and how the workforce in these areas will behave.

Despite the policies that prohibit ICE officers from making arrests in hospitals, it is important to equip yourself with information in case of an emergency. The following resource can be used to know your rights and respond accordingly in the case that you have been stopped by immigration enforcement.

Source: U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ACLU Southern California