Crowds gathered at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights on Saturday for a rally and march to Adventist Health White Memorial after federal immigration agents mounted a blockade at the emergency room entrance and detained at least two people outside the hospital.
Community organizers and elected officials on Saturday handed off a letter to the hospital’s administrators, calling for an end to any collaboration between the hospital and federal immigration agents.
Sen. María Elena Durazo said that it appears the hospital is earning a reputation for being an “ICE-friendly hospital.”
“What happened last night was unacceptable,” Durazo told the hospital’s administrators in the same parking lot where the blockade was held. “It’s unacceptable that ICE would go into our healthcare facilities. But we also believe that White Memorial can and should do more.”
Several hours earlier, patients arriving at the hospital were met by a large presence of masked agents who stood outside the hospital starting Friday evening and into the early hours of Saturday. Ambulances were diverted to nearby hospitals for about two hours while the activity took place.
Local residents and rapid response groups were kept away from the hospital and in multiple videos shared on social media, masked agents pushed away protesters and sprayed them with what appeared to be pepper spray.
The series of events began after eyewitnesses said they saw federal agents detain a person and take them into the hospital before a crowd of protesters came to rally against the ICE agents, according to Raquel Roman, executive director of Proyecto Pastoral and member of the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network.
Saturday’s rally, organized by the local rapid response group, started at Mariachi Plaza and coincided with a Dia de los Muertos celebration. People marched with signs that read “Protect the Sacred” and “Melt ICE” while others wore La Catrina face paint.
Community members, Durazo, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez and Mayor-elect Nithya Raman gathered outside the hospital around 2:30 p.m. with members of Proyecto Pastoral and Centro CSO to denounce the ICE activity that had taken place outside the emergency room.
Daniel Fontoura, president at Adventist Health White Memorial, said the hospital staff does not work with federal immigration agents.
“I don’t know what I can do to assure you there’s no special relationship, no special contract. When they show up, they show up,” Fontoura said, referring to the federal agents.
He added that the hospital would like to work with community organizations and elected officials to understand what they should do in these types of situations.
The LA Local was provided a copy of the letter handed to the hospital administrators. Durazo asks White Memorial leadership to provide a detailed account of what happened and determine why agents were allowed to block the ambulance entrance.
The letter also asks that the hospital “implement and enforce clear procedures” to block ICE agents from obstructing entrances and accessing patient rooms and to issue a public statement in English and Spanish “reaffirming the hospital’s unwavering commitment to caring for all patients, regardless of immigration status.”
The letter requests a written response from hospital leadership by Nov. 21.
“If these concerns remain unresolved, we will seek a review by the California Attorney General of White Memorial’s compliance with state law,” Durazo wrote in the letter.
The letter was signed by multiple community leaders and elected officials present at the rally.
Fontoura appeared flustered as he spoke to Durazo and the other officials. He told the crowd that hospital staff called 911 to try and stop the blockade. He was drowned out by people shouting, “Shame.”
The Dept. of Homeland Security declined to comment about the incident in Boyle Heights and in a statement the agency said they would “not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations.”
The spokesperson instead said that obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime.
“ICE does not target hospitals, schools, or churches,” the statement said, despite the large turnout of protesters who encountered the masked agents at the hospital.
Derek Mejia, 30, a police accountability co-chair at Centro CSO, joined the rally Saturday afternoon.
He was part of a group that gathered outside the hospital early Saturday morning after federal immigration agents detained two people. By that time, Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived at the scene and an LAPD helicopter circled the area, Mejia said.
“It’s a shame,” Mejia said of the incident.
Mejia said he was at the rally because, “One, we want to show ICE that we’re not afraid and two, we want to let White Memorial know that their collaboration with ICE is not only detrimental to the community but that it needs to stop.”
Verita Topete of Centro CSO addressed the crowd at the rally. “White Memorial is endangering the same community they claim to serve,” she said.
“ICE out of LA. ICE out of Boyle Heights. ICE out of California,” Topete chanted, and the crowd followed suit.
The group then marched back to Mariachi Plaza before dispersing around 3 p.m.
They were also joined by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, along with CHIRLA’s Executive Director Angelica Salas, union organizer David Huerta of SEIU and Father Brendan Busse with Dolores Mission Church.
Mayor Karen Bass did not atend the rally, but denounced the ICE activity and in a statement called “on the Trump Administration to stop all immigration enforcement in and around health care facilities. Hospital leadership also had a duty to step in right away to protect patients and neighbors, and by all appearances, that did not happen.”
Raman, who was elected LA’s next mayor, did attend the rally and thanked community members who showed up to protest ICE’s presence several hours earlier at the hospital. She said that as an immigrant herself, she has “felt the fear that so many across the city and across this country have felt … since these raids began.”
“What happened last night at this hospital was an affront to the wishes of the American people and to the people of Los Angeles,” Raman said.
As she left the rally, community members shouted at Raman to “fire the police chief.”
Throughout her mayoral campaign, Raman said she will attempt to replace LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell after criticizing the department’s handling of ICE enforcement, protests and sharing data with federal authorities, which Raman says is a violation of LA’s Sanctuary City policies.
