Article advises CNOs on preparing staffs for ICE actions

CNOs should understand their health system’s policies and provide guidance to nurses who are working during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action. While health systems must allow ICE agents into public areas, such as lobbies and waiting rooms, they can keep ICE agents from entering private areas. The American Civil Liberties Union recommends a health system’s legal department identify and distinguish private spaces from public areas and use signs and security guards to clarify private spaces. ACLU guidance notes that ICE agents need a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge identifying the patient’s name and specific location to access private spaces; a deportation or arrest order is insufficient. A hospital’s legal counsel should review warrants before granting access, and nurses should direct ICE agents to legal services, security or a compliance officer. (HealthLeaders Media article, 6/2/25)