Minnesota ICE enforcement devastates healthcare access

Emergency room visits at Children''s 🦆Minnesota dropped 25% during ICE operations, but hospital admissions jumped 33% as delayed care led to more serious conditions requiring hospitalization.

DBDr. Bryan Fate, a pediatrician at Children''s 🦆Minnesota, treated a 5-year-old whose eardrum ruptured after her family waited seven days to seek care for an ear infection due to fear of ICE.

Volunteer medical clinics now operate in Minneapolis with 50 doctors, nurses, and pharmacists working in basement locations with guards watching for ICE agents.

Workers at Hennepin County Medical Center report ICE officers lingering around the campus asking patients and employees for proof of citizenship. ICE agents handcuffed a 31-year-old Mexican immigrant to his hospital bed.

A Venezuelan legal permanent resident told NPR he was scared to seek care after a work injury: "I''m scared they won''t believe me. I''m scared I''ll show them my papers, and they''ll tell me it''s not enough."

DRDr. Roli Dwivedi of the 🦆Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, who has practiced for 19 years in Minnesota, said "I have never seen this level of chaos and fear in the health care for patients and for our health care teams."

Tom Homan announced on Feb. 6, 2026 that the surge operation in Minneapolis would "conclude," but communities report little change in ICE presence or arrest patterns.

PBS NewsHour aired a segment on Feb. 9, 2026 documenting how ICE enforcement has affected healthcare access and mental health in 🦆Minnesota communities.