Doctors Warn ICE Presence in Medical Facilities Discourages Care Seeking

Fear of ICE Raids in Medical Settings Affects Patient Care

As the Trump administration continues its efforts to deport undocumented immigrants, a growing concern is emerging among healthcare professionals. Many patients are avoiding necessary medical care due to fears that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids could occur in hospitals or other health care facilities. This fear is creating an atmosphere of anxiety that is impacting both physical and mental health outcomes.

Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, has spoken about the increasing presence of ICE agents in medical settings. While she has not observed any official ICE raids in hospitals, she notes that agents have been seen in hospitals and other health care facilities. This is because detention standards require that ICE detainees receive medical services, including initial medical and dental screenings, as well as emergency care.

“They are often bringing in people that they've detained for medical clearance,” said Gounder, who is also a practicing internist and infectious disease expert in New York City. “We see this often with law enforcement. But it is creating an atmosphere of fear. And my colleagues and I have had numerous patients tell us that they hesitated or waited too long to come in for health care.”

Delays in care can have serious consequences. For example, delayed treatment for a heart attack or stroke can lead to more loss of heart or brain tissue. Gounder also heard from an emergency medicine physician in Los Angeles who has witnessed the impact of ICE agents appearing in hospital settings. The agents are arriving with ski masks and looking intimidating to the general patient, which affects the overall health of the community by creating an atmosphere of fear instead of wellness.

The physician alleged that agents have committed ethics violations, including not showing their identification, not allowing patient privacy during interviews and examinations, preventing doctors from contacting family for necessary medical information, and preventing family from visiting. “These are really standard things,” Gounder said. “Every patient should have the right to these kinds of provisions for good health care.”

If you're a law enforcement official coming into a hospital or health care facility, you need to be identifying yourself as such, you need to be showing your badge or your ID,” Gounder added. She emphasized that those who want to enter private patient areas also need to show a judicial warrant. Federal legal standards and privacy protections, including HIPAA and the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, bar unreasonable searches and seizures, including in non-public hospital areas.

CBS News has reached out to ICE for comment. In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security's Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the claims were false. “When our heroic law enforcement bring detainees into hospitals for medical care, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement. This is for the detainees and hospital staff safety,” McLaughlin said.

Many health care providers don't know what their rights are, Gounder said, prompting some hospitals to offer employees guidance on potential ICE encounters. At Bellevue Hospital, where Gounder works, staff were recently given sample prompts for interacting with non-local law enforcement, including ICE agents. The hospital told staff, in part: “We do not require a patient's immigration status to provide care, and we do not share medical or personal information about our patients unless required by law.”

The presence of ICE agents is not just a concern for physical health, but also mental health, she said. “Think about who has come here as an immigrant, many of them have faced real trauma in their home countries,” Gounder said. “So this, what feels like militarization of an emergency room, can be very re-traumatizing and cause some very relevant health impacts.”