Middle Tennessee clergy say they were kept from undocumented patient at Catholic hospital

Immigrant advocates are calling on a Catholic hospital chain to publicly release their policy on treating patients detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Advocates say Ascension Saint Thomas barred priests and legal counsel from speaking with a young man in ICE custody at the hospital’s Murfreesboro campus.

Eyewitnesses with Music City Migra Watch said they saw a young man on the ground bleeding after an interaction with ICE agents. He was taken to Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, where organizers say they saw ICE vehicles in the hospital’s gated lot.

Yuri Rodriguez, a priest at Saint Augustine’s Episcopal Chapel in Nashville, said she was one of several clergy members who were turned away from meeting with the patient, a Guatemalan native who speaks the Mayan language, Kʼicheʼ — something that has made translation harder.

Ascension Saint Thomas has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Outside the hospital’s Nashville office Wednesday morning, Rodriguez read from the hospital’s mission statement, which says that its care is “rooted in the loving ministry of Jesus as healer.”

“Then clearly the presence of ICE agents endangers the ability of Saint Thomas’ doctors, nurses, and providers to exercise that mission freely,” Rodriguez said.

Laura Dunbar, an activist and surgeon, said that the patient had sustained severe injuries from a fall while trying to evade ICE and required surgery.

“No post-operative care is provided for this individual, who is now in an ICE detention facility,” Dunbar said. “I fear for this patient’s life. All it will take is one blow from an impatient guard.”

The patient is no longer at Ascension Saint Thomas, having been transferred to an ICE detention center. Advocates say the incident has created a chilling effect on immigrants seeking medical care.

“The consequences go far beyond this patient. When people begin to fear that hospitals are places where they can be isolated and denied rights, they will delay care,” said Sarah Shoop Neumann, a nurse and activist. “We already just got another call yesterday with Migra Watch from a family that was fearful of going to an appointment at Saint Thomas Rutherford.”

The Guatemalan consulate has reached out to the patient, advocates say, but the outcome of their conversation is not yet known.