Outcry Grows Over Los Angeles Hospital's Alleged Cooperation With ICE After Injured Immigrant Detained

Community leaders, educators, and elected officials are raising concerns about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and contracted detention officers at Glendale Memorial Hospital, where an immigrant woman has been under 24-hour monitoring following her arrest and hospitalization.

Milagro Solis Portillo was detained by ICE agents last Thursday outside her home in Sherman Oaks. According to a statement by the Glendale Teachers Association, she sustained injuries during the arrest and was left handcuffed and covered in vomit for over eight hours without medical attention before being admitted to Glendale Memorial Hospital. The document adds that the officers' presence is creating a hostile environment for both patients and staff.

The association went on to accuse the hospital administration and Dignity Health, its parent organization, of "collaborating with ICE" by allowing the continued monitoring of Portillo on hospital grounds. "Their presence is invasive and inappropriate in a medical setting-"

Glendale Memorial Hospital responded with a statement, claiming that "the hospital cannot legally restrict law enforcement or security personnel from being present in public areas, which include the hospital lobby/waiting area. Our focus always remains on our patients' medical needs and well-being, regardless of their background, status, or circumstances."

"I really want to emphasize what has taken place here at this hospital and what has occurred here, I think, is highly disturbing," said State Senator Sasha Renee Perez, who represents Glendale and much of the San Gabriel Valley, to CBS News. "[It] just highlights how aggressive the Trump administration has become in their pursuit to demonize and target our immigrant community."

Portillo reacted to the development, saying she has felt afraid and unable to recover properly while under constant surveillance, as Los Angeles Daily News reported. Portillo added in a statement that:

"it was inhumane how ICE arrested me. They refused to identify themselves or say anything to me, they twisted my arms, they threw me on the ground. For five minutes, I asked them why they were arresting me and what I had done, and they just told me to shut up"

A Department of Homeland Security official stated that Portillo, originally from El Salvador, has been deported twice and has prior arrests for false identification, theft, and burglary, as ABC 7 reports:

"Following her arrest, she was admitted to Glendale Memorial Hospital. ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously. It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care."