Hospitals across Ohio could soon face a choice: Let federal immigration agents inside to arrest patients or lose access to state funding. That’s the ultimatum behind House Bill 281, a bill from state Rep. Josh Williams, a Toledo-area Republican.
HB 281 would require any hospital receiving state grant money or Medicaid reimbursements to:
* Allow ICE to enter to arrest, interview or collect evidence in service of a warrant.
* Arrest individuals with a lawful warrant.
* Require hospital staff and contractors help facilitate access for these activities.
* Provide ICE agents with information and/or evidence the hospital possesses so long as it doesn’t violate existing federal or state law.