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Bill would require hospitals to permit federal immigration enforcement access; members raise privacy and funding concerns
Summary
House Bill 281 would require hospitals to permit federal immigration agents to enter for arrests, interviews or to collect evidence, and would authorize penalties (state grant restrictions and Medicaid provider action) for noncompliance; committee members pressed sponsors on HIPAA, profiling and potential loss of funding.
Representative Josh Williams presented House Bill 281 to the Public Safety Committee, saying the measure would require hospitals to permit federal immigration officers to enter for specific purposes—arrest pursuant to a warrant, interviewing an individual, or collecting evidence—and would require governing boards to adopt written policies and designate point persons to verify immigration enforcement activity.
Sponsor testimony said penalties for noncompliance could include prohibiting state agencies from distributing further grants to a noncompliant hospital or requiring the Department of Medicaid to sever a Medicaid provider agreement. Williams said hospitals could design their own policies and points of contact and that the bill would not require removal of patients receiving life‑saving care.
Committee members raised multiple concerns. Ranking Member Thomas asked whether hospitals had been consulted; Williams said they had not yet been contacted and that interested‑party meetings would follow. Members warned that stripping state grants or Medicaid provider status could have broad collateral consequences for patients if a hospital loses funding. Representative Brewer asked whether the bill would effectively require hospitals to profile patients; Williams said nothing in the bill requires hospitals to proactively profile and that access would be limited to particularized suspicion and cases where officers present appropriate warrants or identifiers.
Several members also asked whether the bill could require disclosure of protected health information. Williams repeatedly offered to add clarifying language during committee markup to specify that nothing in the provision would require hospitals to allow access to patients' health records or to violate HIPAA; sponsors said the bill is intended to facilitate access to individuals, not to compel release of medical records.
The committee concluded the first hearing on HB281 without a vote.
