September 18, 2015 - NHLA RESPONDS TO ARREST OF TEXAS LATINA BLANCA BORREGO

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

September 18, 2015

NHLA RESPONDS TO ARREST OF TEXAS LATINA BLANCA BORREGO

Collusion of medical personnel and law enforcement is unethical and unjustly denies critical reproductive health care to immigrant women

Washington, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 of the nation's preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, denounces the collusion of medical personnel and law enforcement that led to the arrest of immigrant Latina, Blanca Borrego, while seeking medical care earlier this month.

Borrego was arrested at Northeast Women's Healthcare clinic in Atascocita, Texas during an appointment with her gynecologist for follow-up care for a painful cyst that had been diagnosed the year before. The clinic staff contacted police after suspecting that Borrego’s ID was false. Borrego had been sitting in the waiting room for nearly two hours when staff called her into an exam room, where she was met by Harris County Sheriff’s deputies, who took her away in handcuffs in front of her children and reportedly told her daughters that she would be deported. NHLA calls on Texas lawmakers to investigate the incident, and condemns any unethical and unjust collaboration between medical personnel, law enforcement, and/or immigration authorities that could lead to the arrest or harassment of immigrant women seeking health care or deter others from doing so.

“No woman, regardless of her immigration status, seeking medical care should ever have to do so in fear of arrest or humiliation in a clinic, hospital, or any other medical setting. The law enforcement and clinic staff involved in this case must be held accountable,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

“Blanca Borrego’s arrest--which took place in the middle of a visit to her doctor--is a tragic reminder of the ways our flawed immigration laws make it difficult for immigrant women and families to live with dignity and health,” said National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health Executive Director Jessica González-Rojas, who serves as Co-Chair of NHLA’s Latina Task Force and the NHLA Health Committee. “The sad fact is that many immigrant women in Texas, and across the country, already forgo needed health care, living with lumps in their breasts and daily pain, because clinics are inaccessible or put them at risk for deportation. This is an ongoing human rights crisis, and Blanca Borrego’s arrest shines a light on the struggles of immigrant women, who are routinely denied driver's licenses, affordable healthcare, and other basic human and civil rights. No one should be afraid to seek medical care for fear of arrest or deportation.”

“Anyone who believes that it is appropriate or acceptable to summon police to a health care facility because of suspicions about an identification card has no business being in the health care field,” stated Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel and Co-Chair of the NHLA Immigration Committee. “And any police officer who thinks it is appropriate to lie in wait and then to arrest a patient in an exam room has no business being in law enforcement.”

“It is difficult to believe that we have reached a point in our nation where a woman seeking medical care is instead arrested by the police because of her immigration status,” stated Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation and Co-Chair of the NHLA Immigration Committee. “Ms. Borrego's arrest by the Harris County Sherriff's Department during a routine gynecological visit is an affront to basic human decency and compassion, and the doctor-patient relationship we hold so dear as a nation. It is unconscionable and we call on the appropriate authorities in Texas to hold those responsible for this grotesque violation of human rights fully accountable.”

###

Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

| Teresa Acuña | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 |

| Estuardo Rodriguez | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202)463-4806 |