Protests In LA After ICE Blocks Entrance To Hospital 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Los Angeles have drawn scrutiny for blocking off an ambulance entrance at a Boyle Heights hospital.

NBC 4 reports that the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning. ICE agents formed a line blocking the entrance to Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital for about two hours. The hospital had to redirect ambulance traffic while ICE effectively had the hospital on lockdown.

“When agents formed a line across our ambulance entrance, which we did not request nor authorize, we diverted ambulances to nearby hospitals for about two hours to ensure every patient received timely, respectful, and culturally sensitive care,” a spokesperson for the hospital said.

ICE, as usual, has been evasive about the nature of the blockage and why they were at the hospital in the first place. “For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations,” An ICE spokesperson shared in a statement with NBC Los Angeles 

It’s still unclear the nature of the medical emergency, why ICE brought the patient to the hospital, and the extent of the patient’s injuries. 

CBS News reports that several protests broke out in response to the ICE agents blocking off the hospital. Video shows federal agents clashing with protesters outside the hospital, with Abraham Zavala, a community activist and rapid responder, telling the outlet that he and several others were sprayed with mace.

“They were occupying four spaces. We heard this morning they were diverting traffic to other hospitals,” Zavala told CBS News. “Because they had a parking lot full of ICE agents.” 

It should come as no surprise that nobody was a fan of ICE’s actions. Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman joined the protesters and condemned the agents’ actions. “Especially today, after elections showed that the brutality of the Trump administration is unwelcome, not just in LA, but all over this country,” Raman said to the crowd. “What happened last night at this hospital wasn’t a front to the wishes of the American people.”

LA Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement condemning what happened at the hospital, calling on the Trump administration to stop immigration enforcement at healthcare facilities. 

“A hospital should be the one place where people feel safe. No one should have to think twice about receiving care or fear that a loved one’s treatment could be interrupted because of their immigration status,” Bass’ statement said. “Hospital leadership also had a duty to step in right away to protect patients and neighbors, and by all appearances, that did not happen.”

Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital President Daniel Fontoura pushed back against Bass’s assessment of what happened. “I can tell you that ICE was not at our invitation,” Fontoura said while speaking to media members. “When they block access to our patients … they do us a disservice, and they have dishonored our commitment.”

You would think that after a landslide election that effectively wiped Republicans out of meaningful power, and widespread disapproval over how ICE conducts itself, the agency would do its best to avoid causing more public conflicts. I’m doubtful that ICE is going to continue being able to operate with impunity once the new Congress is sworn in next year, so hopefully this is the last we see of these kinds of incidents going forward. 

But then again, the Gravy Seals can’t help but find new and inventive ways to piss people off. 

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