Healthcare Providers and New Immigration Initiatives: Obligations to Patients and Employees, Compliance Strategies

Executive orders and enforcement directives from the new administration now allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and agents from other divisions of the Department of Homeland Security to enter what have previously been deemed "sensitive locations," including hospitals and clinics, to pursue individuals who lack clear legal immigration status.

Access to sensitive locations was restricted beginning in 2011 subject to limited exceptions. The restrictions granted stricter procedural requirements for ICE to access these locations. This has changed. Counsel and their healthcare provider clients should be prepared for the possibility of enforcement action against patients and employees while remaining compliant with obligations under other federal laws.

For example, while healthcare employers must inquire about a job candidate's work authorization to ensure I-9 compliance in case of an audit, they must still comply with federal anti-discrimination laws that prohibit asking for certain types of information (e.g., specific visa types) or specifying which of the approved documents must be provided for I-9 purposes. And while patient information may be demanded by immigration authorities of healthcare providers, they remain subject to HIPAA's privacy requirements related to disclosure of patients' protected health information.

Listen as our expert panel examines the new administration's immigration initiatives and how these are impacting the healthcare industry, including the challenges created for providers when meeting employee and patient obligations.

I. Introduction: history of "sensitive locations" restrictions for immigration enforcement activity

II. Immigration enforcement in healthcare settings

A. New administration's enforcement initiatives impacting sensitive locations

B. ICE's limitations in healthcare settings

III. Challenges for healthcare providers

A. Employee impact

B. Patient impact

C. Provider interaction with law enforcement

D. Interplay and compliance with federal law obligations

1. HIPAA

2. EMTALA

3. Medicare

4. Other

E. State and local considerations

IV. Healthcare provider strategies and best practices

A. Preparing for ICE site visits

B. Responding to information requests

C. Other

V. Practitioner takeaways

The panel will review these and other important considerations:

• How may the rescission of the sensitive locations policy impact healthcare providers?
• In what ways may the new administration's immigration initiatives create challenges for healthcare providers when meeting other legal obligations to employees? To patients?
• What actions may be taken by healthcare providers to prepare for a possible increase in immigration enforcement in their facilities while remaining compliant with other federal and state laws?