Following the major ramp up of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Minnesota, leaders across state medical care societies held a press conference to highlight their concerns about the impacts of ICE presence, including at hospitals and health care facilities, on the health and safety of the community, including U.S.-born citizens. Doctors described examples of adults and children going without care and emphasized that foregone medical care can lead to worse and often more costly health outcomes that can have long-term negative impacts on the U.S. economy and workforce.
The presence of ICE at hospitals and health care facilities represents a reversal in policy under the Trump administration from previous policy that had protected against enforcement in these and other “sensitive locations” like schools and places of worship. Following the recission of these protections in January 2025, as well as an overall increase in ICE activity, there have been reports of ICE agents showing up at hospitals and other health care facilities. While ICE agents may access public spaces such as lobbies and waiting rooms without a warrant, under the Constitution, immigration and other law enforcement agents have not been permitted to enter places where a person has a “reasonable expectation of privacy” without a judicial warrant. In health care settings, these spaces may include areas such as examination rooms, staff offices, and patient rooms. Despite this protection, health care providers have reported instances of ICE agents accessing spaces such as medical exam rooms without a warrant.
Even before the recent ramp up of ICE activity in Minnesota, a 2025 KFF/New York Times Survey of Immigrants found that immigration-related fears were negatively affecting health care access across the country, including among people across immigration statuses and citizens. In the survey, nearly half (48%) of likely undocumented immigrant adults and 14% of immigrant adults overall say they or a family member have avoided seeking medical care since January 2025 due to immigration-related concerns. Notably, this includes 14% of lawfully present immigrants and 8% of naturalized citizens (Figure 1). Substantial shares of immigrant adults, particularly those who are likely undocumented, also report avoiding other activities such as going to church or other community activities, going to work, or taking their child to school or school events due to immigration-related fears. It’s likely that these impacts have increased in the wake of the further public ramp up of ICE activity since the survey was conducted.
