New DHS policy protects patients from immigration enforcement actions

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas yesterday released a new immigration enforcement policy for “protected areas,” including hospitals and other medical or mental health care facilities. Effective immediately, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection “should not take an enforcement action in or near a location that would restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities,” the policy states. “Such a location is referred to as a ‘protected area.’”