In addition to announcing it would not carry out some enforcement operations and stop arrests at or near healthcare facilities on Wednesday, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said immigrants should not fear seeking medical care during the coronavirus epidemic. “During the COVID-19 crisis, ICE will not carry out enforcement operations at or near health care facilities, such as hospitals, doctors’ offices, accredited health clinics, and emergent or urgent care facilities, except in the most extraordinary of circumstances,” the agency said last Wednesday. “Individuals should not avoid seeking medical care because they fear civil immigration enforcement.”
The announcement comes a day after Donald Trump’s decision to close the southern border to asylum-seekers. “We need the Wall more than ever!” he tweeted. Given the current administration’s policies against immigration and the history of ICE’s claims and actions, immigrants remain worried and less likely to seek care for COVID-19. Immigrants are less likely to seek health care, not only due to lack of insurance but fear for family and friends who may be undocumented, advocates told The New York Times. “The fear that this administration has fueled in immigrant communities is thwarting efforts to protect the public health of everybody,” said Tanya Broder, an attorney at the National Immigration Law Center.
While ICE announced it would not make hospital arrests, “undocumented immigrants fear stepping into a hospital, worrying that their status will be identified and tracked—if not now, then later. They are not likely to believe such reassurances, given the past several years of ever-increasing monitoring and enforcement even of sympathetic noncriminal immigrants,” The Washington Post reported. Even though in most states patients are served, regardless of their status and ability to pay, immigrants are not quick to believe these reassurances due to the administration's animosity against immigrants. “Even when services are available, immigrants may be afraid to seek the care that they need,” Border said.
Regina Rogoff, the chief executive officer of the People’s Community Clinic in Texas, told the Times that the clinic is there to “serve patients regardless of what their paperwork says.” Rogoff added that the clinic is working to reassure immigrants against fears of seeking medical help.
Local government officials and advocacy group leaders are coming together to address these concerns and urging both immigrants and refugees to seek help without fear. “No one should be afraid of going to the doctor and seeking medical care if they need it," San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said at a press conference Thursday. "In the state of California hospitals and other care providers are required to provide care to everyone, regardless of their legal status.” The coalition came together to support California’s immigrant, refugee, and non-English speaking community members, NBC News reported.
The coalition provides food from the San Diego Food Bank, free meals for children and unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. The coalition also assured individuals that they should not fear being labeled a public charge for accessing these resources. The public charge rule went into effect in February; the rule assesses whether green card applicants are likely to need public benefits, including Medicaid.
According to the Times, a statement was posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website that said seeking treatment of preventative services for COVID-19 would not negatively affect applicants applying for permanent residence, but the statement was not publicly shared. “People who are fearful are not going to be reading the fine print of the policy, and if in doubt they will stay away from being tested and treated,” Lawrence Gostin said, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University and adviser to the World Health Organization.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Charles Schumer, immigrant rights groups urged Congress to include immigrant families in the coronavirus relief bill, which at the time excludes millions of immigrant families, including citizens. “As written, the bill includes two provisions that require urgent fixes for immigrant communities affected by this public health and economic crisis. A core provision of Congress’ plan to provide free COVID-19 testing to “everybody” would leave out millions of low- and moderate-income immigrants, and the tax rebate proposal currently excludes mixed-status families and ITIN tax filers,” the letter read.
The letter also addresses the concern that many lawful permanent residents, asylum-seekers, undocumented immigrants, and those granted DACA are ineligible for federal Medicaid. It proposes the solution of revising the relief bill’s section on “Emergency Medicaid for Suspected COVID-19 Infections” to ensure that testing and treatment of health conditions is provided by Medicaid to all those who need it regardless of their immigration status, especially during a public health emergency and a pandemic.
No one should fear seeking resources or the health care they need to due to their immigration status.