Los Angeles – In response to the recent wave of immigration raids taking place across Los Angeles and Trump’s deployment of the National Guard, St. John’s Community Health – a network of community health centers providing free and low-cost health care in Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and the Coachella Valley – released the following statement:
“The aggressive increase in ICE activity is forcing already vulnerable people to fear going to the doctor, school, or even the grocery store – and putting countless families in danger,” said Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health. “We do not share patient information with immigration authorities, and have clear protocols around the privacy of all who walk through our doors – standards that every single health center and school in the United States should implement to protect their patients and students.
“Health care access and immigrant rights do not exist in vacuums or separately from one another – they are two sides of the same coin that is human dignity. We stand with our patients, our friends, and our neighbors regardless of immigration status – and decry Trump’s orders to escalate violence in our city by sending in the National Guard.”
To ensure undocumented patients can still access health care even amidst ICE activity, St. John’s Community Health launched Health Care Without Fear – a program where providers will come to patient’s homes if they are afraid of going out due to ICE activity. The community health network also offers telehealth for patients who don’t need immediate physical examinations or services. To date, over 200 people have requested and received home visits through Health Care Without Fear.
