A rumor that spread across the United States last week about a purported “ICE raid” at Rady Children’s Hospital used photographs with context removed in order to spread a false narrative, the hospital said Monday.
The rumor plays on fears sparked by the Trump administration’s deportation plans, as actual raids begin in cities across the the United States, including San Diego.
The photograph showed several Border Patrol vehicles — not Immigration, Customs and Enforcement — in front of the hospital with the text, “Confirmed @ Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego today 1/24/25.” The post was captioned, “Not sure what time this was.”
No other information was presented with the photo.
The image, which appears to have originally been published to a local Facebook group, quickly went viral on Facebook, then TikTok and other social media sites, with accounts adding their own details to the story that developed. By the weekend, the story was viral: ICE raids at a children’s hospital in San Diego.
However, the story is untrue and based on faulty information, pre-existing fears, and while the claim does not appear to have originated with an anti-immigration groups, it was likely used by individuals and groups in order to sow fear.
Rady confirmed that there was no raid, and put out a statement pointing out that border agencies sometimes have to take children in their custody to local hospitals for medical care.
“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 hospital said in a statement that was also posted to its website.
“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.”
It is much easier to spread rumors and fear in an environment where there are historical precedents, such as midnight no-knock raids of homes suspected of harboring undocumented people, which took place in San Diego and elsewhere for decades.
It is also extremely difficult to debunk narratives in the current information environment, where there are no guardrails or gatekeepers left for any information, good or bad, that passes through social media sites, a fact known and celebrated by bad actors all over the world.
The incident also illustrates the importance of checking into context before repeating fearmongering or anger-inducing claims in an information environment increasingly tainted by bad actors sowing bad information for their own gain.
