Latino immigrant sues LA hospital over alleged surveillance and privacy breaches

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is being sued for discriminatory treatment and privacy violations against a Latino immigrant who, for more than a month, was under continuous surveillance by federal immigration agents. 

The agents were allegedly allowed to be stationed in his room while he was receiving medical treatment. 

Bayron Rovidio Marin was taken to the hospital located in Torrance due to serious injuries to his leg after an encounter with ICE agents who had raided the Carson car wash he was in. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center staff admitted Marin on August 27, 2025, under a "blackout" procedure and registered under a pseudonym. 

He was then taken up to a room where he was chained to a bed with tightly strapped handcuffs around his legs and wrists. For several days, he was unable to speak privately with doctors or legal counsel. According to the claim, Marin asked hospital staff to notify his emergency contact about his condition, but they referred to agents who prohibited contact. 

Throughout his stay at the hospital, Marin also noticed other members of his care team, including at least one doctor, develop a very apparent and friendly relationship with the federal agents, the lawsuit states. 

Upon discharge, Marin had been scheduled for a series of follow-up appointments with the X-ray Department and attended the first one. However, the lawsuit states that the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center called him and “abruptly canceled all appointments without explanation.” 

The lawsuit states that hospital personnel allowed ICE federal agents to dictate the pace and parameters of Marin’s medical treatment, restricted access to his family and attorneys and failed to protect his privacy and civil liberties while he was hospitalized from August 27 to October 7, 2025.

“Los Angeles County health care providers should have zero complicity in the federal government’s mistreatment of immigrants and trampling of rights,” said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel for Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), who represents Marin. “ICE’s practices have rendered its agents disentitled to any deference from professional healers when the agents cannot provide proof of judicial sanction for their exercising custody over someone needing treatment in a hospital.”

The lawsuit was filed under the California Tort Claims Act (CTCA), which allows individuals to seek damages from state or local government entities for wrongful acts committed by government employees in the course of their duties. 

MALDEF, considered to be one of the most prominent Latino civil rights organizations in the U.S., is seeking $250,000 in damages from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for Marin, who, according to the lawsuit, continues to suffer from psychological and emotional distress from his time when he was hospitalized. 

“Marin suffers from frequent nightmares and has persistent trouble sleeping,” the lawsuit states. “Sometimes he feels like he is suffocating or drowning over the events that he experienced at Harbor.”

Nicolas Thompson-Lleras, staff attorney at Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), said medical facilities like the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center must do more to protect patients against unlawful federal interference, regardless of their immigration status.

“Mr. Marin’s dignity and humanity were trampled by ICE when he was first arrested. But his trauma and injuries were exacerbated when he was taken to the hospital,” he said. “All patients should be treated under the same standard of care and dignity, regardless of their alleged status. While we are grateful to the doctors and nurses who helped Mr. Marin heal, medical facilities must do more to protect both their care teams and patients against unlawful federal interference. We hope this claim, which seeks to offer Mr. Marin the first steps towards justice, will send a message loud and clear that immigrants have rights and that they are not alone.”