Duluth, Minn., legislators call on hospitals to “establish protections” for patients and staff against ICE

National attention has been focused on Minneapolis, where federal immigration agents and the local community have been at odds. But there has been trouble about 150 miles north in the city of Duluth, Minn., as well. This week, the local delegation of state legislators from the state’s dominant Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, which is formally affiliated with the national Democratic Party, urged Minnesota hospitals to “establish protections against” the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

“Over the past weeks, ICE agents have entered Minnesota hospitals to harass and detain patients,” stated the delegation, consisting of Sen. Jen McEwen and Reps. Liish Kozlowski and Pete Johnson. It added that there have been “several high-profile cases of ICE agents violating patients’ rights.”

The delegation said that, on Wednesday, “federal immigration enforcement agents entered Essentia Health with a patient being held in ICE detention at the Douglas County Jail.” The incident occurred one day after the delegation spoke out against the “federal government’s occupation of Minnesota, the violent conduct of ICE agents, and the use of a jail just across the Wisconsin border as a holding facility for people kidnapped by ICE.”

In a statement, the Duluth Legislative Delegation said, “Health care is a human right – no matter your immigration status. Importantly, ICE detention is also civil, not criminal. Patients in civil immigration detention retain the same rights as any other person seeking health care. Hospitals, clinics, and every place where people receive health care should be safe and healing spaces.

“The confirmed ICE presence in one of our Duluth hospitals today lays bare the absolute necessity of putting clear policies and plans in place to ensure the safety of doctors, nurses, patients, and their family members. When institutions put clear practices in place, workers are protected and communities are safer.

“We are working with immigrant rights leaders like Unidos, hospital employees' union leadership, and Essentia Health and Aspirus administrators to encourage their systems to proactively adopt and implement clear policies, protocols, and training. We’re encouraged by Essentia Health’s care and responsiveness today.”