For three days, the staff of an Orlando medical clinic encouraged a woman with abdominal pain who called the triage line to go to the hospital. She resisted, scared of a 2023 Florida law that required hospitals to ask whether a patient was in the U.S. with legal permission.
The clinic had worked hard to explain the limits of the law, which was part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ sweeping package of tighter immigration policies. The clinic posted signs and counseled patients: They could decline to answer the question and still receive care. Individual, identifying information wouldn’t be reported to the state.
“We tried to explain this again and again and again, but the fear was real,” Grace Medical Home CEO Stephanie Garris said, adding the woman finally did go to an emergency room for treatment.
People are not dumb.
Just because the law doesn’t require an answer now doesn’t mean it won’t. Immigration statuses last decades, so people have to make decisions that protect themselves through multiple administrations and changing political trends.What will the governor’s office do with this information? What about the next governor? They could station agents outside hospitals with higher rates of non-citizen patients. They could change the laws protecting patient confidentiality for non-citizens, and access those records (HIPPA is a law, not a civil right). Remember when we believed that abortion care and contraception was safe forever?
These people are fixated on punishing immigrants and if we don’t stop them now, they will just keep pushing the line further and further.
I’ve know since the Bush admin that my name would be on a list someday. This just makes it a little bit closer. I’m a cis white male, fwiw, and I’m still anticipating the day when my thoughts make me an enemy.