The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is apologizing for turning away two people eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations on Saturday because they were undocumented immigrants.
On Feb. 21, it posted a statement on Twitter. UT Health Rio Valley, the clinical practice of the university, stated it “apologizes to those patients who were affected” and “did not follow the most current State of Texas guidelines.”
A message to our campus and RGV community: pic.twitter.com/QaebNMFAzL
— UTRGV (@utrgv) February 21, 2021
Proof of residency and citizenship is not required to get the vaccine, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services — and is stated in guidance on the agency’s website. UT-RGV spokesperson Patrick Gonzalez confirmed the university did not follow state protocol.
Abraham Diaz, who lives in San Juan, said his father was one of the people turned away father. Diaz said he couldn't provide a social security number. Diaz tweeted about the experience on Feb. 20.
After being in line fit 4+ hours, @utrgv denied my father the covid vaccine because he's undocumented. He's 60+ with underlying conditions. They said their website mentions it but it's a lie.@MALDEF @ACLU
— Abe Díaz (@_AbeDiaz_) February 20, 2021
Diaz said his dad called him upset and embarrassed after waiting in line for four hours at the UT-RGV vaccine clinic, only to be wrongly told by a person working there he was not eligible for the shot.
“[Dad] said that [the health worker] told him in front of everybody, ‘you don’t have a social, so we can’t help you at all. And it’s only for U.S. citizens,’" said Diaz.
The Rio Grande Valley is located near the U.S.-Mexico border and is a majority Hispanic region with a large number of undocumented and mixed-status families.
The University is working to reschedule individuals wrongly turned away from getting the vaccine.
NPR's Malak Gharib contributed to this story.