On March 4, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LHCH), the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), and the Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) hosted an online panel discussion highlighting Senate Bill 81 (SB 81), authored by Senator Jesse Arreguín in September 2025 to strengthen protections for immigrant patients in healthcare facilities.
This bill restricts immigration enforcement from conducting investigations in non-public areas of hospitals. It also classifies immigration status as protected medical information and requires healthcare facilities to implement specific policies to ensure that such information remains protected.
“SB 81 prohibits health staff from sharing private information of an individual with immigration enforcement, and that includes immigration status and place of birth,” said Mar Velez, policy director with LHCH.
SB 81 covers any room where an individual is receiving treatment, including hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, and doctors’ offices. Unless there is a judicial warrant indicating that immigration officials have the authority to access those spaces, immigration enforcement officials cannot enter these non-public areas.
Although the bill went into effect in September of last year, it was noted that there have been challenges with compliance under the new law.
“We have received reports that health spaces have not provided guidance and/or procedures for care staff to follow when ICE comes into the building,” Velez noted.
Seema Kanani, a social worker at Kaiser and a member of SEIU-UHW, was introduced as a guest speaker on the panel, where she provided her testimony as a member of personnel at a medical facility.
“We haven’t seen any meaningful implementation in our hospitals and clinics. I’m not sure I’m speaking for myself alone when I say that at our worksites there has been no enforcement or guidance. There have been no real changes, no formal training, and no clear protocols,” said Kanani.
Kanani continued, indicating that while there is general guidance, there are no formal guidelines to follow.
“Personally, if I were to walk into a facility today, the only thing I know is that I’m supposed to call the administrator,” said Kanani. “That, to me, is unacceptable. When bills pass that affect hospital or clinic operations, Kaiser typically sends out detailed mass communications. They move quickly when it comes to regulations that impact their business. But when it comes to SB 81, a law centered on protecting our immigrant communities and patients, we have not seen the same sense of urgency.”
To address growing concerns about SB 81, LHCH is introducing another piece of legislation, SB 1257, which aims to strengthen enforcement of laws such as SB 81.
“SB 1257 would require the Attorney General to provide an annual report on ICE activity that occurs. We need to ensure that the state is taking action to hold that activity accountable and to protect our communities from unlawful immigration enforcement,” said Velez.
The webinar concluded with Senator Jesse Arreguín sharing the importance of having a bill like SB 81.
“Key to the effectiveness of SB 81 is the partnership — the partnership with all these incredible organizations that are doing the work of protecting our immigrant communities, that are under attack by this inhumane, unconstitutional assault on immigrants in California — by our frontline healthcare providers, by our hospitals and community health clinics, and by the community, because the community is an important part of this work as well,” said Arreguín.
