Above: FOX 5 report from Jan. 24 on California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s visit to San Diego to outline immigrant rights.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began ramping up removal operations in San Diego County, an image made the rounds on social media over the weekend purporting to show an operation at Rady Children’s Hospital.

The image appears to show three U.S. Border Patrol vehicles parked outside the hospital. Over the photo, text reads, “Border Patrol at Rady Children’s Hospital by ER Entrance. Confirmed.”

The circulation of the image highlighted current feelings of consternation among migrants and their advocates, who are wary of what President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders signed last week on immigration will look like once fully implemented.

Among the spate of orders was one throwing out longstanding policies largely preventing arrests of undocumented migrants in sensitive locations, such as schools, healthcare facilities and churches.

That said, a spokesperson for Rady Children’s stated this kind of enforcement action is not what was happening in the image as it appeared to suggest.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Rady Children’s said U.S. Border Patrol agents and vehicles are “not uncommon” to see at the hospital, as agents transport minors in their custody to the hospital when they need medical attention.

“As a pediatric health care system, Rady Children’s mission is clear: to care for every child regardless of their circumstances. The recently announced executive orders have not changed that responsibility,” the statement continued.

Regardless, the image highlights the palpable anxiety in migrant communities notwithstanding of documentation status around Trump’s pledge to carry out mass deportations.

The first days of Trump’s administration have already seen hundreds of arrests per day, culminating to 956 in raids held across the country on Sunday, per Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan. That number represents about 0.8% of the total arrests during ICE’s 2024 fiscal year.

Emboldened by Trump’s policies, advocates and immigration attorneys are anticipating the possibility that there may be instances of removal, detainment or apprehension in medical facilities by immigration enforcement as there was during the president’s first term in office.

It is important to note, even with a rollback of federal law enforcement guidelines preventing action at sensitive sites, immigration enforcement is still limited at hospitals under other federal laws, such as the Fourth Amendment and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), according to the National Immigration Law Center.

Many healthcare facilities, such as Rady Children’s, may also opt to implement additional policies to protect patients from immigration enforcement, including barring officers from entering private spaces without a warrant in order to preserve their privacy.

The full statement from Rady Children’s Hospital can be read below:

“As a pediatric health care system, Rady Children’s mission is clear: to care for every child regardless of their circumstances. The recently announced executive orders have not changed that responsibility.

Rady Children’s is currently prohibited under federal law from asking or disclosing information about immigration status.

It is a place of safety and healing, guided by policies that protect patient confidentiality and ensure equitable access to care.

Given the heightened sensitivity, it’s important for visitors to know that it is not uncommon to see Border Patrol agents and vehicles at the hospital. These agents are seeking care for minors in their custody and not conducting any immigration enforcement actions.”