Saturday, July 4, 10am-noon
Riverside Methodist Hospital, 3535 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43214
We demand that OhioHealth kick ICE out of Riverside Methodist Hospital! Join us tomorrow with a sign and plenty of water.
Here's the backstory: Early Thursday morning @614icewatch received a tip that ICE officers were sitting outside a 9th floor behavioral health unit in Riverside. That evening I went to the spot the tipster indicated and filmed two men sitting at a table near the elevators with external batteries, empty bottles and cups, and a pair of handcuffs. Hospital security escorted me out for "unauthorized filming."
Friday at 3:30 pm, another immigrant advocate went and photographed three men around the same table. One of the men in the photograph has the same complexion, haircut, and build as a man photographed this week at the ICE field office in Westerville. We were also able to match plates and vehicles in the Riverside parking lot to plates and vehicles seen this week at the field office, although one of the plates had been swapped to a different vehicle.
Lawyers have told us that OhioHealth absolutely has the legal right to refuse to allow ICE agents on their property.
Why does this matter? As Dr. Eric Reinhart writes: "If people without documentation fear that stepping into a hospital will expose them to ICE, many will avoid medical care altogether. This fear will lead to preventable suffering and death, not only among undocumented immigrants but also within the broader community. Infectious diseases will spread unnecessarily, chronic illnesses will worsen, and emergency situations that could have been easily treated will become fatal for those too afraid to seek help. Children with undocumented parents will suffer. Women may avoid prenatal care and attempt to give birth at home without proper support, leading to increased preventable complications and both infant and maternal mortality. The ripple effects will endanger public health as a whole and further undermine the ethical credibility and morale of the U.S. health care field."
