Senator Arreguín's Bill to Ensure Healthcare Spaces are Safe Spaces Advances to the Assembly

Sacramento, CA - Today, the State Senate advanced SB 81 by Senator Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley) to the Assembly in a 27-7 vote. This bill would require healthcare providers to create nonpublic areas to ensure they continue to be safe spaces for our communities and support patient care. Additionally, this bill strengthens privacy protections for immigrants by recognizing that immigration status is part of a patient’s medical record. 

“Healthcare is a human right — and no one should have to choose between seeking medical care and fearing detention or deportation. Not in California. Not anywhere,” said Senator Jesse Arreguín. “Our immigrant community deserve respect and dignity. I’m proud to present SB 81 to protect California’s immigrant communities and to stand up for the people who hold this state together. This isn’t just smart policy – it’s the right thing to do.”

In 2017, SB 54, the California Values Act — a landmark victory for immigrant rights — was signed into law, and this bill builds upon its foundation by codifying guidance from California’s Attorney General into law.  SB 54 was created in response to actions by the first Trump Administration to attack and intimidate California’s immigrant communities. California’s immigrant community are the backbone of the state’s economy and its culture and they must be protected so that no one should have to choose between seeking medical care and fearing detention or deportation.  

“When patients face health care crises they should not have to worry about being detained or deported while seeking care, and healthcare workers should not have to worry about immigration officials interfering with their ability to provide high quality patient care,” said Mikey F. Vaughn, Jr, a certified Nurse Assistant and member of SEIU-UHW. “SB 81 upholds California’s values by ensuring access to quality healthcare in California, no matter who occupies the Oval Office.” 

“Hospitals and health care facilities are not immigration checkpoints,” said Bruno Huizar, supervising policy manager with California Immigrant Policy Center. “SB 81 will send a clear message: health care facilities should be a safe haven and off-limits for immigration enforcement in California. Every Californian deserves to access medical care when we’re sick, and no one should have to risk arrest, surveillance or deportation just to see a doctor.”

California is the state with the largest immigration population in the nation, where 1 in 4 Californians are immigrants, 1 in nearly 2 California children live in an immigrant family, and nearly half of California workers are immigrants or children of immigrants. According to the California Budget & Policy Center, undocumented immigrants in California paid $8.5 billion in local and state taxes in 2022, helping fund critical programs and public services. California’s immigrant community is not only essential, but also foundational -- they care for our children, grow our food, build our homes, and drive our progress.

“Our healthcare system should be a place of care and dignity—not fear or intimidation. Immigrant families are already disproportionately uninsured and underinsured, and now they face the added threat of losing Medi-Cal coverage. Fear must not become yet another barrier to accessing care,” said Dr. Seciah Aquino, Executive Director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. “We’ve seen the chilling effects of xenophobic federal policies like the Public Charge rule. These policies discourage care, create confusion, and harm health. SB 81 is a critical leadership opportunity for California to stand up and shield immigrant communities from those harms, restore trust in our institutions, and defend the very people who help build our state and are integral to our communities.”

 “Nurses know that there is already so much discouraging patients from seeking care,” said Sandy Reding, RN and President of California Nurses Association. “We reject the push to allow immigration enforcement to do harm in spaces where people are trying to heal. Immigrants are our neighbors, friends, and even co-workers. This legislation is an important step towards protecting our patients and ensuring that everyone has the right to get the care they need when they need it.”

The bill, one of the key priorities of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, has received support from dozens of organizations, and is co-sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the California Immigrant Policy Center, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, and the California Nurses Association.