A study published Monday in JAMA Network Open puts numbers to a long-suspected trend: after immigration enforcement ramped up last year, visits by people born outside the U.S. to three Los Angeles emergency rooms fell sharply. The drop was steep enough that researchers described it as precipitous, and it aligns with earlier reports from clinicians who said immigrant patients were avoiding care out of fear.
At the same time, hospital admissions among that population rose. That combination — fewer ER visits but more admissions — suggests that patients who did seek help were sicker, having delayed care until their conditions became urgent. The pattern points to a chilling effect from ICE raids and heightened enforcement, even in a city like Los Angeles that has positioned itself as a sanctuary.
The findings echo what a Minneapolis pediatrician told STAT in February: “There’s been a huge lapse in care.” While that was anecdotal, the new study provides systematic evidence from multiple emergency departments. The authors note that the rise in admissions implies that the avoidance of emergency care is not just a matter of inconvenience — it is leading to worse health outcomes for an already vulnerable population.