If we believe in emergency medicine as a universal safety net, we must reckon with the fact that enforcement-driven fear is ripping holes in that net. And, yes, if you are a physician, a nurse, a hospital administrator, or a public-health advocate, you are part of the solution. Because when we lose trust, we don’t just lose access for undocumented patients, we lose access for everyone.
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ACEP Now: January 2026Without reform, this will only be the tip of the ICE-berg.
DR. ANYANWU is an emergency medicine physician in Houston with an MPH in epidemiology and fellowship training in leadership and advocacy. She serves on the ACEP Now Editorial Advisory Board.
References
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE: First 100 Days. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Published 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.ice.gov/features/100-days
- American Immigration Council. ICE Detention at 59,000: Record Levels, Horrible Overcrowding, Dwindling Due Process. Published 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/event/ice-detention-59000-record-levels-horrible-overcrowding-dwindling-due-process/
- ABC 7 Chicago. Chicago Alderperson Says Federal Agents Handcuffed Her at Humboldt Park Medical Facility. Published August 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-immigration-news-aldermen-speak-militarized-enforcement-humboldt-park-area/17931599/
- LAist. At a Boyle Heights Hospital, ICE Agents Call the Shots, Doctors Say. Published October 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://laist.com/news/politics/boyle-heights-hospital-ice-agents-patient-care-privacy-rights
- Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA). Responding to ICE in Emergency Departments: Protecting Patients & Navigating Legal Obligations. Published February 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.emra.org/emresident/article/ice-in-the-ed
- School of Public Health, University of Michigan. Increased Immigration Enforcement and Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Has Potential ‘Chilling Effect’ on Health Care Access. Published June 2018. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2018posts/increased-immigration-enforcement-and-anti-Immigrant-rhetoric-has-potential-chilling-effect-on-health-care-access.html
- CBS News. Doctors Fear ICE Agents in Health Care Facilities Are Deterring People From Seeking Care. Published July 9, 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctors-fear-ice-agents-health-care-facilities-deterring-people/
- Health Beat New York. Ripple effects of ICE raids create health challenges for New York City. Published August 14, 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.healthbeat.org/newyork/2025/01/29/your-local-epidemiologist-ice-raids-effects-on-health/
- The 19th. ICE Fears Put Pregnant Immigrants and Their Babies at Risk. Published October 7, 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://19thnews.org/2025/10/pregnant-immigrants-ice-fears-deportation/
- Health Beat New York. Your Local Epidemiologist: ICE Raids and Their Effects on Community Health. Published January 29, 2025. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.healthbeat.org/newyork/2025/01/29/your-local-epidemiologist-ice-raids-effects-on-health/
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4 Responses to “The Chilling Effect of ICE Raids on Emergency Medicine”
January 18, 2026
James E Boland MDIt is fashionable these days to criticize ICE for every misfortune that befalls anyone in vicinity of an ICE raid I think a corollary study of the trauma caused by criminal illegal aliens would be in order here. Maybe we could start with the trauma caused by debt collection practices of Tren de Aragua where first they cut off the debtors finger, then a hand, then murder the debtor. I could go on and talk about what happens in the basements of the CCP’s secret police stations in many American cities but, you get the picture.
The actions of ICE are protecting vulnerable immigrant populations legally present or otherwise just as much as they are American citizens.
February 1, 2026
Charles Akin, MDI agree.
February 1, 2026
Charles AkinOur Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) officers are simply enforcing immigration law as spelled out in the 1996 ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM AND IMMIGRANT RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF signed into law by President Bill Clinton
and the Secure Fences Act signed into law in 2006 by President George W. Bush.
The chaos we are all witnessing today is the direct result of four years of the Biden Administration’s reckless open borders policy which allowed up to twenty million foreign nationals to illegally enter into our country between lawful ports of entry and to file bogus asylum claims. When this many people invade our country it stands to reason that a whole bunch of dangerous people will come with them. It stands to reason when millions of illegal migrants embed themselves into the lawful population any attempt to detain these illegal migrants will impact innocent people.
When sanctuary city policies prevent local police forces from releasing the jailed criminals to federal officers where arrests can be carried out in controlled environments then we have even more chaos. The downside of all this stuff is being felt everywhere in our country, and our emergency departments are not immune.
February 13, 2026
William Allen MDThis kind of article is the exact reason I surrendered my FACEP/ACEP membership.