Rapid Response & Warrants 101
To better support our patients and their communities, we should establish policies to make our institutions safer.
Although federal guidance discourages ICE enforcement activities at hospitals and health centers to ensure individuals can seek care without fear, ICE retains discretion to enter protected areas under certain conditions.
To safeguard patients, it is essential to:
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Develop explicit policies and protocols for responding to ICE visits, ensuring clarity and minimizing confusion.
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Disseminate these policies widely to staff, providers, and patients.
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Provide comprehensive training for staff on how to implement these protocols effectively.
Policies must be clear, transparent, and well-communicated to both staff and the broader community to ensure safety and uphold trust.
An overall resource is the CA Attorney General's "Promoting Safe and Secure Healthcare Access for All - Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s Healthcare Facilities in Responding to Immigration Issues" updated in December 2024. This guide supports implementation of the California Legislature’s decision to limit state and local participation in immigration enforcement activities and is intended to help California healthcare facility officials form practical plans to protect the rights of patients and their families. It outlines federal and state laws, provides policy recommendations, and shares model policies that must be adopted by all CA healthcare facilities. The AG's office has similar guides for higher education, shelters, K-12 schools, libraries and more available on their website.
Rapid Response
Creating Policies to Protect Patients
To establish effective policies and procedures for an ICE visit, consider developing/using the following for your institution:
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Algorithm: A quick-reference guide to post in clinical areas.
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Summary Document: A concise overview for easy access (see Blue Cards below).
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Detailed Procedures: Comprehensive instructions with rationale.
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FAQ Document: Answers for staff, integrating content from the algorithm and detailed procedures.
Key Components for Policies Supporting Patients:
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The facility will provide care to all patients, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
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Providers will ask about or document country of origin/documentation status only if clinically relevant.
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Patient presence in the clinic and medical records will not be shared with law enforcement without proper warrants.
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ICE encounters on institutional property should follow a structured response, similar to a medical emergency (e.g., code blue), with clearly assigned tasks and roles.
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Define what areas are considered private/non-public property.
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Staff are prohibited from allowing ICE officers to enter/search without proper authorization.
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Provide a contact plan for on- and off-duty hours.
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Train providers and staff in handling “Code Colds” (ICE-related emergencies). See Blue Cards below for suggestions
Below is a sample protocol to follow if ICE or other law enforcement come to your health care institution.
Protect your most vulnerable patients and remember your right to remain silent.
Refer all questions to your organization's designated representative (ideally someone well-versed in the law, such as Risk Management).
Each health center should develop their own protocol. You can print, customize and post "Blue Cards" in clinical spaces to remind everyone of what to do in case ICE or law enforcement shows up.
By practicing this protocol consistently - in the same way you might practice a code for an active threat - you will know what to do if and when law enforcement presents at your health center.
Step 1: Protect Patients
- Call for assistance from other employees
- Immediately move as many patients as possible, starting with the most vulnerable into clinic/hospital areas designated as "private."
- This is usually behind a desk or in a room, inside the hospital gated area.
- Assign clinic employees to stay with families and patients.
- Remind patients of their right to remain silent.
- As much as possible, keep patients and families calm.
Recognizing Federal Agents
- May be uniformed or in plain clothes. May wear uniforms that resemble those worn by local law enforcement and say "police".
- May ask for a specific person or group OR may be doing a general sweep of a public area
- May be waiting outside a clinic or designated private area (this is legal)
Step 2: Activate Institutional Rapid Response
If your workplace has a Rapid Response Protocol in place, immediately activate it. If not, call the clinic supervisor.
Example: SF Department of Public Health
1. Notify Department Leadership
2. Department Leadership calls the Office of Director of Health
What to Tell The
Rapid Response Network
- Identify yourself, your role, & where you are calling from
- What time the incident started
- Who was involved
- Details of the event
- Outcome of event (if over)
- Contact Information
Step 4: Review the Warrant
- You do not have to talk with law enforcement or comply with requests if they do not have a valid court order.
- Check the type of warrant - if it's administrative, you do not have to do anything.
- Check the scope of the warrant and object if an officer attempts to go beyond the scope of the warrant.
- Check that the warrant:
--> is a valid judicial warrant
--> is signed by a judge or magistrate judge
--> states the address of the premises to be searched
--> is being executed during the time period specified on the warrant, if any.
Tips For Interacting with ICE
Once the presence of federal authorities is recognized, immediately activate your Rapid Response Protocol or, if you do not have one, contact your supervisor.
If the person is identifiable as an federal agent, you do NOT have to interact with them unless presented with a warrant or court order. If you are presented with a legal document, contact your supervisor or Rapid Response Provider before providing any confidential information or access to areas designated as private.
Take steps to ensure that all PHI is not in plain sight and all PHI is discussed out of earshot.
If there is an unidentified person at your hospital or clinic, ask them to identify themselves.
If someone identified as law enforcement is in a space designated as private, ask them/demand that they leave unless they have a court order to be there.
Step 5: Document Everything
Ask non-vulnerable individuals to record encounter using their phone (if in public area)
- Assign one clinic employee to document the encounter:
- Note officers' insignia, badge number, and name if possible
- Consider: ACLU Phone App (uploads videos directly to ACLU even if phone is confiscated).
Step 6: Debrief
- How the Raid/Encounter started
- Result of the Encounter
- Describe your interactions with ICE & the legal & advocacy representatives you contacted
- How you recorded the Raid/Encounter
- Review the information in this toolkit as a refresher training
- Discuss how to notify others of the Raid/Encounter and how to best prepare for the next one
Click here for Scenarios.
Rapid Response Resources
Sample ICE Response Policies & Procedures
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San Francisco Department of Public Health
Detailed Policies & Procedures for Encounters with ICE
Quick Reference Policies & Procedures for Encounters with ICE (starts on page 5 of document)
ICE Raid Response Networks & Materials
Toolkit: Defense Against ICE Raid & Community Arrests
Critical information & analysis of our country’s massive detention and deportation system, as well as straightforward guidance on how to prepare for the ICE raids & advocate for our communities.
San Francisco Immigrant & Legal Education Network (SFILEN)
Rapid Response Network Information
What happens when you call the SFILEN Rapid Response Network & what information will they request.
Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP)
Collaborative effort to provide critical legal, educational, and emergency support to our undocumented community.
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