U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) posted this image on social media on Wednesday. The Ben Arthur Clinic reversed course by Wednesday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Heinrich’s Office)
A Southern New Mexico medical clinic turned undocumented patients away Wednesday morning, but quickly reversed course after receiving guidance from a state primary care association, according to state and federal officials.
Ben Archer Health Centers operates 11 clinics in Southern New Mexico. On Wednesday morning, an employee at a Las Cruces clinic posted a sign warning that “any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully president in the United States does not qualify for federally funded services at Ben Archer Health Center.”
The announcement cited an executive order that President Donald Trump signed Feb. 19, which directed all members of his cabinet, not rural health clinics like Ben Archer, to identify within 30 days ways in which federal funds are being spent on “illegal aliens.”
A constituent sent a photo of the sign to the office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who posted it on social media. A spokesperson said in a news release that Heinrich’s office verified that the clinic was also turning away patients at its school-based health clinics, and in an interview with Source New Mexico said that patients were unable to fill prescriptions or get seen at previously scheduled appointments.
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According to the center’s website, which contains information for patients in both English and Spanish, the center has clinics in schools in Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces.
The nonprofit clinic’s executive director, Mary Alice Garay, did not respond to a request for comment from Source New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon. According to the center’s most recent tax filings, it received more than $50 million in revenue last fiscal year, including about one-third of it from government sources. The clinic employs three doctors and a dentist, according to the filings.
The clinic reversed its policy within hours after receiving guidance from the New Mexico Primary Care Association, New Mexico Health Department spokesperson Robert Nott said in an email. The association is a nonprofit that represents health care facilities in the state and works as a liaison between members and government agencies, Nott said.
The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
According to the news release from Heinrich’s office, New Mexico and federal law require clinics like Ben Archer to provide healthcare to all residents, regardless of their immigration status.
“What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal. I am glad they reversed course, and that they did it quickly,” Heinrich said in the news release. “Let this be a lesson to all health care providers that we will hold you accountable for following the law.”