ICE presence at hospitals triggers friction with workers

Main Idea: ICE’s presence at a Minneapolis hospital has sparked conflict with staff, who say federal officers ignored medical rules while guarding a detained immigrant with severe head injuries.

Key Points:

• Nurses and doctors at Hennepin County Medical Center said ICE’s account of Alberto Castañeda Mondragón’s injuries did not match his serious brain and skull trauma.
• Staff said ICE officers kept close watch over him, used restraints that clashed with hospital policy, and created fear on the hospital floor.
• The hospital set new rules for dealing with ICE, saying patients in federal custody must still be treated first as patients and that restraints should be used only when medically needed.
• A federal judge ordered Castañeda Mondragón released from ICE custody, and he was later discharged from the hospital with a long recovery ahead.