Intensive care nurses immediately doubted the word of federal immigration officers when they arrived at a Minneapolis hospital with a Mexican immigrant who had broken bones in his face and skull.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents initially claimed Alberto Castañeda Mondragón had tried to flee while handcuffed and “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall,” according to court documents filed by a lawyer seeking his release.
But staff members at Hennepin County Medical Center determined that could not possibly account for the fractures and bleeding throughout the 31-year-old’s brain, said three nurses familiar with the case.
HIPAA laws would have prevented hospital personnel from speaking publicly about this, and of course ICE was hushing it up, seems like his friends broke the story after he was out.
HIPAA prevents the discussion of personally identifying information and access to information that doesn’t have to do with your job. The nurses and doctors that treated this person could have absolutely confirmed that ICE brought somebody in with a crushed skull as long as they left it at that.
I don’t know the exact wording, but I don’t think so. Sure, you can share information if it’s anonymized, but that isn’t. There was only one person brought in by ICE I assume. It isn’t anonymous. It’d be incredibly easy to tie it to a single person.