TX Health Workers Turn In Undocumented Woman Who Showed Up For Gynecology Appointment
Blanca Borrego recently showed up for her annual gynecological exam at the Northeast Women’s Healthcare clinic in Atascocita, TX. Staffers at the clinic stalled her for several hours, then led her to an examination room where authorities entered a few minutes later and arrested her.
Borrego’s two daughters, who were also with their mother at the clinic, watched in horror as their mom was led away in handcuffs. Her eldest daughter recalled a deputy saying:
We’re going to take her downtown, she presented a form of false identification. She’s going to get deported…..READ MORE at LiberalAmerica
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Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Andrew Bradford
Andrew Bradford is an author, academic, and political activist who lives in Atlanta. He is a Senior Writer for Liberal America and also has his own blog at deepleftfield.info
36 responses to TX Health Workers Turn In Undocumented Woman Who Showed Up For Gynecology Appointment
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tracey marie September 14th, 2015 at 12:44
Sad to say that Memorial Herman is a huge corporation. I use them for my doctors and care. Their ob/gyn’s are based in the hospitals and they receive all the insurance money from any and all tests and necessary surgeries.
CandideThirtythree September 14th, 2015 at 13:02
They use real people’s ID to make those fake driver’s licenses, I know because my SS# was being used by an illegal immigrant who used it to get a job at a Wal-Mart in Texas. It made my life a nightmare.
whatthe46 September 14th, 2015 at 14:16
affected your taxes?
CandideThirtythree September 14th, 2015 at 22:10
I could not get paid! I had just started working at a university and they told me that my SS# was already in use at a Wal-Mart in Texas. They could not fill out my paperwork for the deductions so I was SOL until I could get it straightened out. I didn’t get paid for over 2 months and in the meantime I was having to pay my bills on a credit card! The Social Security office made me jump through all sorts of hoops while foreign students in my department were walking in and getting SS cards and leaving before I was even seen! UGH!
whatthe46 September 14th, 2015 at 22:14
sorry sweetie.
CandideThirtythree September 15th, 2015 at 00:42
Thanks, it was a rough time all the way around for me and that was just one more giant headache that I could have done without LOL. I survived, just barely.
whatthe46 September 15th, 2015 at 00:54
i didn’t get my identity stolen, but some butt wipe managed, how i don’t know, to get my debit card info. they were spending money in fricken NY, and Dallas. my bank caught it quickly and froze my account and issued me a new card. they also replaced the 1,500 +. thank goodness. that happened twice. that was my nightmare, yours i can’t even begin to imagine.
allison1050 September 15th, 2015 at 05:11
I had a cr.card # swiped when I bought a new modem 3 wks. ago. I got an e-alert from my bank and contacted them while I was still reading it. By the next day, I and tracked down a phone number in Calgary but I’m in Las Vegas AND someone had tried using it again. They were “testing” it I believe, when I discovered a phone # I tried every combination of the “creditor” and always came up with Turkish Airlines..I’d love to go to Istanbul but not at this moment. The 2nd time it was posted to my account they added a $15.60 foreign transaction fee.
I know who swiped my numbers at the store and the bank has asked me not to go there. As old as I am and as sick as I’ve been, I’m so angry about it I know I could gather the strength to drop his doughy ass. Or pay someone to visit him 1 night.
CandideThirtythree September 15th, 2015 at 06:30
One time I got a call from my bank to say that someone in California was trying to buy a pair of very expensive sneakers and since they knew I was an old lady and didn’t live anywhere near California and they had no record of any travel costs on the card that they were calling me to see if the charge was legit.
Of course I said no and the transaction was denied and the account was frozen before any thing else could be added.
It is a bit creepy that they know so much about us and can come up with such a profile while the crook is still standing at the counter but that is what computers can do nowadays.
I didn’t lose my card so they must have been making cards with stolen numbers on them.
I was lucky that I had friends at the university who were able to trace down exactly and by whom my SS# was being used, some other employer might not have even tried and just assumed that I was the one with the stolen SS#.
Some people have to fight for years to get their identity theft problems resolved and they lose everything because of ruined credit so I got off relatively easy.
allison1050 September 14th, 2015 at 14:12
A clear violation of HIPAA
Jimmy Fleck September 14th, 2015 at 14:37
I don’t think getting a fake SS# and driver’s licence is a violation of HIPAA. I think instead it is a violation of identity theft laws and perhaps some other state laws concerning the driver’s license. Either way, I do agree that the violator should be prosecuted and if they are here illegally then they should be deported.
allison1050 September 14th, 2015 at 14:58
And what do you think of escorting a PATIENT into an exam room under the guise of an exam…while a LICENSED nurse/ma has picked up the phone to call the police my friend allow me to say that THAT doesn’t come under PRACTICING NURSING by ANY Board of Nursing. To be clear, I’m not talking about SS#’s or DL only HIPAA.
Jimmy Fleck September 14th, 2015 at 15:45
HIPAA prevents someone from releasing medical information about you. It has no bearing on reporting someone that is breaking the law to the police. Let’s say someone brought in a young child that the nurse suspected was being abused by the adult that brought them in. Would it be wrong to ask him to wait in an exam room while someone else called the police? Would you be suggesting that the nurse violated HIPAA laws?
allison1050 September 14th, 2015 at 18:04
I got into it last night on another site with 2 people that wanted to discuss the hospital spokeswoman but, you at least are giving me argument to weigh. I’ve worked ER’s/hospital admitting and there are procedures in place that allows 1st line staff to pass info on to the CN/ER doctor. In other words they know what to look for after they have also read the intake notes. So to me, once again we’re talking to different subjects.
Carla Akins September 14th, 2015 at 18:19
Child abuse falls under the mandatory reporting law and still has strict limits of what can be shared and with whom.
tracey marie September 14th, 2015 at 18:39
being undocumented is not child abuse, and you are wrong.
bpollen September 14th, 2015 at 16:10
Presenting a false identity is not a violation of HIPAA; in that you are correct. The patient CAN disclose personal information even UNDER HIPAA. Medical personnel can NOT release Personally Identifiable Information without the express written consent of the patient.
Or, in other words, the medical center violated federal law.
Jimmy Fleck September 14th, 2015 at 16:57
What private health related information did the nurse share with the police?
Carla Akins September 14th, 2015 at 18:10
Her name.
bpollen September 15th, 2015 at 04:29
It’s not just PHI (private health info) that can’t be shared, but also PII (Personally Identifiable Information) which is any information that by itself, or with other information, allows the identification of the individual. ANY information that can be used to identify the patient.
Jimmy Fleck September 14th, 2015 at 17:19
Crime on premises: If a covered entity believes in good faith that protected health information is evidence of criminal conduct that occurred on the premises of the covered entity, it may disclose the information to a law enforcement official.
Looks like this is specifically allowed disclosure according to http://www.ndaa.org/ncpca_update_v16_no4.html
Carla Akins September 14th, 2015 at 18:18
It violates HIPPA to even notify someone by name to another agency. Healthcare workers are not an agent of law enforcement and under no obligation to contact officials. As a matter of fact, their responsibility is to protect any information gathered during the medical visit. My daughter is a logistics administrator at a trauma 2 level ER – there is no HIPPA violation or infraction that we are not familiar. Even mandatory reporting issues; like child abuse and gunshot wounds have their limitations.
Jimmy Fleck September 15th, 2015 at 09:17
Carla – read above on the exception I cited. A crime was being committed on the premises which is an allowable situation to share identifying information with the police. This is not a HIPAA violation.
allison1050 September 14th, 2015 at 18:05
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU bpollen!
jybarz September 14th, 2015 at 16:57
Right or wrong, it seems bloody heartless and a breach of trust.
whatthe46 September 14th, 2015 at 17:01
not to mention, they just had a mother taken away from her children. they must feel like the big man on campus.
Jimmy Fleck September 14th, 2015 at 17:23
What other crimes that warrant arrest do you feel people should ignore if a mother is the one committing them?
tracey marie September 14th, 2015 at 18:40
civil offense not a felony.
Robert Smithson September 15th, 2015 at 03:22
Having a fake government document is, and the Social Security card in her possession is a fake.
Robert Smithson September 15th, 2015 at 03:24
Surely she has some friends or relatives who will take care of the children until she gets deported? And when she leaves her children are free to go to Mexico with her.
whatthe46 September 15th, 2015 at 09:54
spoken like an ass. good for you.
DogsRgoodpeople September 14th, 2015 at 18:24
I’m sure I am unable to articulate the disgust I feel over this .
Keywords:
Religious right
Evangelical
Donald Trump
Insecurity/ Fear
Try hard for better life and we will arrest you.
Robert Smithson September 15th, 2015 at 03:26
How about them respecting our laws for once? They need to go home and apply to come here through the proper channels.
amersham46 September 14th, 2015 at 19:06
Texas, a law unto its self
Robert Smithson September 15th, 2015 at 03:19
Un-documented, un-documented, now what does that word mean? Now I remember, it means she is here illegally, without the permission of the U.S. government. And this is how we shall deport the millions who are here illegally – one person at a time.
bpollen September 15th, 2015 at 04:33
Just as an aside, Texas health care sucks unless you are wealthy.