Local clinic says they’re turning away undocumented patients

Ben Archer Health Center, a clinic with locations across Southern New Mexico, said it would no longer serve people who can’t prove they’re U.S. Citizens, but reversed course after the move that has drawn criticism from federal officials.    

“What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal,” Sen. Martin Heinrich said in a news release. “I am glad they reversed course and that they did it quickly. Let this be a lesson to all healthcare providers that we will hold you accountable for following the law."

Ben Archer Health Center posted a notice on its doors reading, “Due to executive order ‘Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Border’ dated Feb. 19, 2025, any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States does not qualify for federally funded services at Ben Archer Health Center.”

In the news release, Heinrich said that they verified the Center was employing this practice at school-based health clinics, for scheduled appointments at standalone clinics and for same-day appointment requests.

“The idea that kids should have to take their birth certificate to school to get care at the school health clinic? It’s just ludicrous,” Heinrich said. 

Ben Archer Health Center did not respond to multiple requests for comment.  However, the Bulletin did contact an administrative assistant via phone and asked if the Center could clarify its position.

“There’s nothing I can do about that,” the administrative assistant said before directing the Bulletin to a voice mailbox and hanging up.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued the executive order "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Border" on Feb. 19. The order directs federal departments and agencies to take action to ensure that public money does not go to people without citizenship.   

Undocumented immigrants are already prohibited from accessing many federally funded programs like Medicaid and Medicare in much of the U.S., according to the National Immigration Forum, a nonprofit that advocates for immigration reform.    

However, Heinrich pointed out that New Mexico law requires clinics like Ben Archer Health Center to provide services regardless of citizenship status.  

Like many clinics in the area, Ben Archer Health Center receives funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It also receives funding from the State of New Mexico’s Department of Health (Rural Primary Health Care Act), Families First, Children, Youth & Families Department, Human Services Department, and Dona Ana County.   

According to their website, the Center is based in Hatch but has locations in Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences, Dona Ana, Columbus, Alamogordo, Deming and Radium Springs.

In 2023, the Center on Immigration and Child Welfare estimated that about 17 percent of county residents were born outside the United States, almost double the state average of 9 percent.   

The same data states that nearly one out of every three children under six years old live in an immigrant family, with most having ties to Mexico.