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Family Detained Outside Portland Hospital While Seeking Emergency Care for Child
PORTLAND, OR – A Gresham family, including a 7-year-old child, was arrested and detained by federal immigration agents last week outside an Adventist Health hospital in Portland, as the parents sought emergency medical attention for their daughter. The incident, which occurred on January 16, marks what appears to be the first time in Oregon that an entire family unit has been detained by immigration authorities.
The arrest took place within 1,000 feet of the same parking lot where a Border Patrol agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan couple two weeks prior, according to The Oregonian. This incident highlights the ongoing shift in immigration enforcement, particularly since the Trump administration rescinded Obama-era protections that previously designated hospitals, schools, and churches as sensitive locations generally off-limits for such actions.
The family, identified as Yohendry De Jesus Crespo, 40, his wife Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo, 34, and their daughter Diana, were at the Adventist Health emergency department in Southeast Portland around dawn for Diana’s non-stop nosebleed. The parents, who have a pending asylum petition from Venezuela, were reportedly surrounded by three unmarked cars carrying immigration agents in the ER parking lot, according to a close family friend, Ana Linares.
“No one should live in fear of being detained while getting medical care for their child,” stated U.S. Rep.
Maxine Dexter, a Democrat representing Oregon’s 3rd District. The Oregon Nurses Association echoed these concerns, calling the family’s arrest “alarming, chilling, and deeply shameful.”
Heather Pease, a spokesperson for Adventist Health Portland, clarified the hospital’s position: “No law enforcement agency contacted us, and we did not coordinate with any agency. Adventist Health Portland is here for our community, open, available, and ready to provide care when it’s needed most. Patient care remains our priority, regardless of circumstances.”
Following their arrest, the family was reportedly taken to a detention center in Tacoma before being flown to Texas. Court records reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive indicate that the parents had no criminal history in Oregon or Utah, where they had previously resided. The family, along with Linares and her relatives, entered the U.S. via San Ysidro, California, in November 2024.
State Rep. Ricki Ruiz, a Democrat from Gresham, emphasized the urgency of the situation: “The immediate health and wellbeing of this child must be the top priority. We urgently call for the child to receive appropriate medical care without delay and for the family to be afforded due process and access to legal counsel.”
Nationwide, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently detaining over 70,000 individuals, including at least 6,000 “family units,” as reported by CBS News. The detention of the Crespo family underscores the complexities and human impact of current immigration policies.