ICE presence at Boyle Heights hospital prompts protest

BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Community members and advocates gathered outside Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights on Saturday afternoon to protest the presence of ICE agents at the hospital.

Federal agents were at the medical center seeking medical treatment for a person in their custody around midnight, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Video from the scene showed a teenage girl being assisted by neighbors after she was pepper-sprayed during the demonstration.

"Don't tilt your head back, don't tilt your head back," one person is heard telling the teen.

"Don't touch it, don't touch it," another person says.

Video also showed tense confrontations outside the hospital between community members and federal agents. As ICE agents left the area, Los Angeles Police Department officers followed closely behind.

Community member Derek Mejia criticized the police response.

"LAPD wasn't concerned with the people that were arrested- brutalized by ICE or the two minors who were maced by ICE but they were concerned with keeping their buddies in ICE safe," Mejia said.

The protest drew community advocates and Mayor-elect Nithya Raman, who condemned the federal presence at the hospital.

"What happened last night at this hospital was an affront to the wishes of the American people and to the people of Los Angeles," Raman said.

During the demonstration, protesters entered hospital grounds and gathered around Adventist Health White Memorial President Daniel Fontoura, urging him to address the crowd.

"Give him the Mic! Give him the Mic," demonstrators shouted.

Fontoura said federal agents entered the hospital with a person in need of medical care. He also said hospital officials pushed back when agents sought access during a physician-patient consultation.

"There was a time when ICE actually wanted to break protocol and be in with the physician in that sacred physician patient encounter and we said no," Fontoura said.

Fontoura also explained why the hospital contacted the LAPD during the protest.

"When they lined up to prevent access to EMS trucks and ambulances to our facility that was not done with our approval," he said.

"So when those things happen we called LAPD and said help us with this predicament."

The demonstration continued Saturday afternoon as community members, advocates and hospital officials responded to the overnight arrival of ICE agents at the medical center.