La Familia Health says federal agents detained man outside Santa Fe clinic
Local and federal leaders are seeking answers after a reported immigration arrest outside a Santa Fe medical clinic Wednesday morning.
La Familia Health officials said federal immigration agents detained a man in the parking lot of the organization’s clinic on Alto Street around 9:20 a.m. The man was accompanied by his minor child, clinic officials told KOAT.
“Individuals from ICE were following a gentleman and his minor child,” said Jasmin Milz, chief marketing and development officer for La Familia Health. “They came into the parking lot, blocked his car and arrested him.”
Milz said the agents did not enter the clinic or approach its employees. She described the incident as a targeted arrest and said La Familia does not know why the man was detained.
According to Milz, the agents appeared to have followed the man and his child from their home to the clinic. The child was not detained and was later released to a family member. Santa Fe Mayor Michael J. Garcia told KOAT community advocates were assisting the child.
KOAT contacted the Department of Homeland Security to confirm the arrest and request information about the man’s identity, the reason for his detention and where he was taken. DHS had not responded as of Wednesday night.
Congresswoman Leger Fernandez believes at least eight people were detained
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez said the incident may have been part of a larger immigration enforcement operation in Santa Fe on Wednesday.
Leger Fernandez said she learned about the reported clinic arrest while traveling to the Torrance County Detention Facility, which holds immigration detainees near Estancia. She said someone who witnessed the incident sent her photographs and described people inside the clinic as being afraid to leave.
While at the detention facility, the congresswoman asked whether people detained in Santa Fe would be taken to Estancia.
She said facility officials told her “the eight” had not arrived, which she viewed as partial confirmation that at least eight people had been detained. DHS has not confirmed that number.
Leger Fernandez said her office is trying to identify those detained, notify their families and open cases on their behalf.
City was not notified
Garcia said the Santa Fe Police Department and other city personnel were not notified before the reported enforcement activity.
“In most occurrences like this, our police department is not notified,” Garcia said.
The mayor said this was, to his knowledge, the first immigration arrest at a health care facility in Santa Fe.
Santa Fe currently has no law or ordinance prohibiting federal immigration enforcement at health care facilities or on city property. Garcia said the city is working on a policy that would prohibit immigration enforcement activity on city-owned property if adopted by the governing body.
La Familia leases its Alto Street building from the city. Milz said the arrest happened in the public parking area in front of the clinic.
Albuquerque has an ordinance that provides protections for locations it considers sensitive, including schools, churches and hospitals.
Health care access concerns
Local leaders and clinic officials expressed concern that the reported arrest could discourage people from seeking medical care.
“When they see armed people with masks, it’s frightening,” Milz said. “Fear is very prevalent throughout the community, whatever their legal status may be.”
Garcia said fear of immigration enforcement near clinics could create a broader public health problem by causing people to avoid preventive or emergency treatment. He said similar fears could also prevent residents from reporting crimes or cooperating with law enforcement.
La Familia serves more than 15,000 people each year across four Santa Fe facilities. Milz said nearly 43% of its patients are uninsured, while another 25% receive Medicaid.
The organization provides medical, dental and behavioral health services regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. Milz said La Familia has never collected information about patients’ citizenship status and will not begin doing so.
Clinic staff have been trained on how to respond if immigration agents attempt to enter a facility, Milz said. That includes determining whether agents have a judicial warrant, restricting access to nonpublic areas and contacting attorneys.
Milz emphasized that Wednesday’s incident was not a raid on the clinic.
“La Familia is committed to providing high-quality, comprehensive primary care at all four of our facilities,” she said.
Governor monitoring the situation
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office said she is aware of the reported enforcement activity and is monitoring the situation.
“She has routinely insisted that ICE officers obey state laws and the Constitution of the United States while operating in New Mexico,” the governor’s spokesperson Michael Coleman said in a statement. “The governor supports a sensible and humane deportation policy that targets serious criminals and not immigrants with families who are simply trying to make a better life for themselves.”
KOAT is continuing to seek confirmation from DHS about the arrest outside La Familia and the seven other possible detentions described by Leger Fernandez.