The union representing more than 24,000 Oregon nurses has called out management at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Medical Center for jeopardizing the rights, health and safety of patients in custody of immigration enforcement agencies.
The Oregon Nurses Association sent a letter Wednesday to Legacy Emanuel President Bahaa Wanly demanding the hospital begin complying with both its own policies and statutory obligations regarding patients in custody.
The entrance of Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, Ore., on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
A Thursday press release from the nurses’ union states U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has recently been bringing detainees to Legacy Emanuel for treatment.
Officials with ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have ramped up enforcement efforts in the Portland area in recent months. Border Patrol reportedly detained more than 560 Oregonians in October alone.
The escalation in arrests has coincided with reports of aggressive treatment by officers. Last month, Border Patrol officers sent a Beaverton man to OHSU with broken ribs. Immigration officers also allegedly ran over a man’s foot in Vancouver earlier this month.
In a statement to OPB, Legacy Health denied there’s been an uptick in ICE detainees at the hospital. The hospital did not respond to OPB’s inquiry about the number of people in custody of immigration enforcement agencies who have been treated at the facility.
“The health and safety of the communities we serve remains our highest priority at Legacy Health and we are committed to providing medical care to everyone who needs it, including individuals who are in custody and regardless of immigration or citizenship status. We have reviewed our policies to ensure we are providing the protection we can to impacted communities, while complying with both state and federal laws,” the hospital stated.
The letter from ONA — which began representing the 1,000 recently unionized Legacy nurses in February — outlines several steps for hospital administration to take to come into compliance with its own policies, adhere to state and federal law and better protect the rights and health of its patients.
According to the nurses’ union, Legacy’s current practices put not only patients but nurses at risk and “create a climate of fear and moral distress.”
The letter states Legacy is currently failing to comply with its own rules for following federal law that protects patients’ health information, as outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
Though Legacy’s own policies state that it is “obligated to follow HIPAA regardless of the patient’s status,” according to a hospital law enforcement policy provided to OPB, ONA alleges “nurses report being told by management, in substance, that ‘detainees do not maintain the same HIPAA rights as other patients.’”
According to the union, ICE officers have been allowed to stay at a patient’s bedside round-the-clock, including during sensitive exams, mental health assessments and bathroom use. The officers have also allegedly refused to leave when asked to step away by nurses.
“The result is that there is a significant risk that detainee patients do not speak candidly, shut down when speaking in front of agents, and thereby withhold critical information about their symptoms, history, and mental health,” according to the letter. “This lack of communication may seriously compromise care.”
Legacy stated it takes the HIPAA rights of all patients seriously.
“We are committed to following all state and federal laws that regulate the access and disclosure of protected health information,” Legacy said. “We have internal processes for our staff to follow if they believe there has been a policy or HIPAA violation(s) so they can report the incident, and we can investigate.”
The union asserts that ICE officers have been allowed to make decisions regarding patient care, including when they are discharged, though “[n]owhere do Legacy policies state that ICE or any other agency becomes the medical decision-maker for a patient in custody.”
Officers have reportedly pressured nurses and doctors to skip certain assessments or treatment options to ensure the patient is treated and discharged more quickly, and have been reported “roaming hallways and units” throughout the hospital and “clustered around patient rooms and emergency department bays, according to the letter.
The letter also alleges Legacy has prevented nurses from sharing information with patients about their federal rights, contacting their family or helping them contact an immigration legal hotline.
According to the union, none of the hospital’s policies explicitly prohibit these actions.
The letter noted that ICE’s actions and presence at the hospital impact not only the patients in their custody but also other patients and staff.
“Nurses, especially nurses of color and immigrant nurses, report feeling unsafe and intimidated when ICE and other federal agents are present,” the letter states. “Some describe carrying extra identification at work, avoiding eye contact with officers, or taking steps to minimize their own visibility on the unit.”
To address these concerns, ONA requested Legacy take several steps in the next two weeks.
The union asked Legacy to create a log that tracks when officers enter the hospital, their name, agency and badge number. They also asked the hospital to document who brought the patient in (including badge number), the stated reason for the visit, observed behavior of the patient and officers as well as force used during the arrest and any harm experienced while in custody.
The union is also asking the hospital to document when officers push for early discharge or altering a patient’s plan for treatment, and require officers to leave the room for sensitive exams and interviews.
Additionally, ONA is asking Legacy not to stop nurses from lawfully helping patients in immigration enforcement custody from contacting family or legal counsel.
ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
