Los Angeles Boyle Heights Hospital Says ICE Agents Blocked Its Ambulance Entrance for About Two Hours Without Authorization, Diverting Ambulances
LOS ANGELES — Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights said that late on November 6 and into the early hours of November 7, agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brought a person in their custody to its emergency department for treatment and then formed a line across the hospital's ambulance entrance for about two hours, forcing the hospital to divert ambulances to nearby facilities. The hospital said the blockade was neither requested nor authorized by the hospital.
In a statement on November 7, the hospital's president, Daniel Fontoura, said staff had cared for the patient with dignity and privacy, and stressed that White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement, does not facilitate immigration operations, and will not allow enforcement activities to compromise patient care and safety. According to LAist and the Los Angeles Times, the agents' presence drew confrontations with community members who gathered at the hospital; video from the scene showed protesters being pepper-sprayed and pinned to the ground. Rapid response groups said at least two protesters were detained by federal agents and that both were U.S. citizens, a claim the Department of Homeland Security has not confirmed.
The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded twice, at 11:59 p.m. on November 6 and 2:24 a.m. on November 7, to reports of a disturbance, and stressed that its officers did not take part in federal immigration enforcement at any point. On the afternoon of November 7, community members marched from Mariachi Plaza to the hospital in protest, and local elected officials demanded an explanation from federal authorities. White Memorial is one of the hospitals where people in ICE custody are taken for treatment; in October 2025, LAist reported that five physicians at the hospital alleged administrators were allowing ICE agents to remain present during patients' treatment, raising concerns about medical privacy.
(Source: Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center)
Source: Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于洛杉矶 Boyle Heights 的 Adventist Health White Memorial 医疗中心（资料图）。Downtowngal 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles (file photo). By Downtowngal, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
