PALO ALTO — A 47-year-old woman from Guadalajara, Mexico, was taken to Stanford Hospital for treatment after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained her Monday morning in East Palo Alto, according to officials and family members.
She remained at the hospital Monday night with agents stationed outside her room.
Speaking through a Spanish translator, the woman’s father, Armando Rodriguez Garcia, said his daughter, her husband and their child were heading to work and school when agents stopped them. The agents tried to detain the woman’s husband but he escaped. The woman, however, lost consciousness and agents took her to the hospital.
“When she woke up, she was here in the hospital,” Garcia said.
Garcia described the detainment as violent, noting that the agents left marks on his granddaughter’s wrist.
Stanford Hospital spokesperson Lisa Kim confirmed authorities arrived at the hospital with a person.
“What I can tell you is that today, federal agents brought an individual in need of medical attention to the Stanford Health Care emergency department,” Kim said in an email. “No arrests were made at the hospital.”
Palo Alto assistant Police Chief James Reifschneider said he did not have any details about what ICE was doing in the area and directed inquiries to the federal agency.
“We received a courtesy notification that their personnel would be at that location this morning, as is routine for both local and federal law enforcement agencies,” Reifschneider said in an email. “They did not request our assistance nor did we provide any.”
ICE did not immediately respond to a message seeking additional details about the case.
The Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County also confirmed ICE agents were at the hospital, writing in a Facebook post that “they appear to have brought someone in for medical care.”
“Agents are not doing enforcement inside the hospital, but they are staying with the person they brought,” the post stated.
A hospital worker who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation by his employer expressed dismay at the presence of armed federal agents inside the hospital.
“We are very worried the patient will be released back into ICE custody, which is incredibly dangerous for her health,” he said. “And we are also worried about the effects of having armed ICE agents roaming our hospital hallways for our co-workers and our other patients.”
Family members were initially allowed to see the woman but were ordered to leave around 4:30 p.m., Garcia said. Michelle De Blanc, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, was still working Monday night to reunite them.
“I know the immigration issues are huge here, but her health and safety are the first priority,” De Blanc told this news organization. “And her father is very worried about her. We want to get the family back in the room to make sure she’s OK.”
The father of the detained woman said his daughter does not have a criminal record. She entered the country legally, Garcia said, but her visa has since expired.
Check back for updates.