NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Illegal immigration is not just a border issue. It’s being felt across America, including Middle Tennessee medical facilities.
At Vanderbilt Health, which has seven hospitals and more than 200 clinics across the region, the issue of patient confidentiality, immigration status, and law enforcement requests for information has become a topic of inquiry.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) clarified what employees should expect and what they should do in certain circumstances. In a lengthy document, officials discussed policies but also presented questions healthcare workers might have and scenarios they might face.
For example, one of the questions was “What should I do if ICE or other law enforcement agents appear in my unit?”
In that case, the Office of Legal Affairs instructed employees to interact with authorities in a calm and professional manner without any physical contact, resistance, interference, or misstatements even if the law enforcement agents are uncooperative or aggressive. Employees were also urged not to share any patient information, including immigration status, with authorities or grant them access to any non-public areas
The document also specified where authorities could enter and carry out law enforcement activities, what to do if they presented a warrant or were uncooperative, and more.
According to officials, if authorities insist on taking custody of a patient, employees should remain calm, polite, and professional; avoid becoming confrontational or physically interfering with law enforcement; and be truthful but don’t hesitate to disclose a lack of authorization to provide certain information.
VUMC said part of its policy is to protect patients’ privacy rights while also cooperating with law enforcement agencies to protect the public.
U.S. Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.) spoke to a room full of law enforcement on Friday, Feb. 7 at the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association’s Exhibitor Winter Annual Conference in Murfreesboro. While the congressman didn’t address VUMC’s release specifically, he did speak at length about illegal immigration and efforts to curtail it.
“With Republicans in control of the Senate and House now and with President Trump in the White House, we’ve seen bills like the Laken Riley Act passed and become law,” Rose said. “It’s common sense legislation: it says if a person is already in the country illegally and they commit a host of different crimes, they are going to be immediately deported. We shouldn’t have illegal immigrant here to begin with, but certainly if they’re causing trouble in our communities, we should get them out of the country.”
VUMC officials declined to comment on the document, telling News 2 the statement is a specific and complete representation of VUMC’s position on the matter. However, News 2 learned there have been no instances of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents coming into the hospital.
