Related: <\/p>\n
The speakers declined to offer details on specific ICE encounters in health care settings in Michigan, citing privacy concerns, and the immigrant rights center did not have exact incident numbers to share.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen an increase in reports, either from bystanders or health care providers, of enforcement activity at or near health care facilities and we\u2019re also responding to incidents around the country that fear and are preparing for potentially happening in Michigan,\u201d said ACLU staff attorney Ramis Wadood.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also been increased reporting of individuals injured during ICE arrests taken to hospitals and emergency departments, according to Christine Sauv\u00e9, a communications manager with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s on top of the medical care needs that folks are receiving while in detention,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s been some recent reporting<\/a> showing the frequency of folks needing to go to emergency while they\u2019re in detention.\u201d<\/p>\n New guidance<\/p>\n ICE did not respond immediately to a request for comment, but in a January 2025 statement, the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, said it would review enforcement actions in \u201csensitive\u201d areas on a case-by-case basis. DHS said \u201cthe Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement\u201d and trusts them to use \u201ccommon sense.\u201d<\/p>\n To address the changes in federal law enforcement, Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and the ACLU of Michigan this week sent guidance to more than 400 hospitals and providers in the state. The 12-page letter<\/a> details the policy change and its impacts on care.<\/p>\n \u201cThis change in federal immigration enforcement policy does not alter patients\u2019 legal rights or alter health-care providers\u2019 legal obligations,\u201d said Wadood. \u201cRegardless of immigration status, patients remain entitled to necessary medical care under federal and state law, and health care facilities retain the legal authority to protect patient privacy and control access to nonpublic areas of their premises.\u201d<\/p>\n Privacy concerns<\/p>\n Federal policy changes could also compromise data privacy for those who use government benefits and social services, according to Michigan Poverty Law Program attorney Elinor Jordan.<\/p>\n \u201cSince January, some Medicaid data of people who are known to not be lawfully present could potentially be turned over for immigration enforcement purposes,\u201d Jordan said, adding that enrollees should weigh the benefits of using public programs against the risk of sharing information.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies and service providers should not take an all-or-nothing approach in response to data privacy threats.\u201d<\/p>\n Changes outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act<\/a> to strip Medicaid eligibility from certain immigrant groups could impact 66,000 non-citizens in Michigan, she said, and leave about 90,000 refugees without health care.<\/p>\n The Michigan Health and Hospital Association said it does not collect data or provide guidance on operational policies of its members.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHospitals are, first and foremost, places of healing. Every day, healthcare teams across the state are focused on providing safe, high-quality care to every person that walks through their doors,\u201d said MHA spokesperson Elise Gonzales in an email. \u201cThis commitment not only reflects their mission but also aligns with federal policies like the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act that ensure patients receive care when and where they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n Workers\u2019 \u2018fear\u2019 of ICE<\/p>\n Health care workers in the state are also strained by the Trump administration\u2019s change in the \u201csensitive locations\u201d policy. Many noncitizens work in clinics and hospitals, and those in the media briefing describe an atmosphere where employees worry about being targeted near or at work while managing the impacts of immigration enforcement on their personal lives.<\/p>\n Nationally, 29% of building cleaning and maintenance is done by foreign-born workers<\/a>. Immigrants account for 9% of Michigan\u2019s hospital workforce, according to the health policy research firm KFF.<\/p>\n A Lansing-area nurse\u2019s relative was detained by ICE last year and unable to access medication<\/a>, according to Yousef Rabhi, legislative director for the Michigan Nurses Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alee Vang, a Hmong refugee, was deported to Laos in December, according to the family\u2019s GoFundMe, while they await further government action to bring him back to the US.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear is definitely there,\u201d Rabhi said, adding that the law enforcement issue \u201ctranscends the citizenship status question\u201d with the killing of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere could be risks even conducting their day-to-day job and caring for their patients.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctors say there\u2019s a \u201cchilling effect\u201d that drives down health care utilization among documented and undocumented people because of increased immigration enforcement activity \u2014\u00a084% of health care workers surveyed by Physicians for Human Rights report significant or moderate decreases in patient visits since January 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStaff in a clinic where I work have expressed personal fears related to ICE raids despite their status as American citizens,\u201d said Dr. Elliott Brannon, a family medicine resident in southeast Michigan. \u201cPerhaps the most insidious impact of ICE, however, is for the patients that we don\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Thank you to our Michigan Health Watch Sponsors<\/p>\n Bridge Michigan Health Watch is made possible by generous financial support from our sponsors. Sponsorship supports our independent journalism mission but does not constitute sponsor endorsement of individual articles or editorial content. Bridge Michigan journalism remains fact- and data-driven and independent at all times.<\/p>\n Please visit the\u00a0About<\/a>\u00a0page for more information and to\u00a0subscribe<\/a>\u00a0to Health Watch. Interested in becoming a sponsor?\u00a0Contact Emma Carr<\/a>.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754973788_72_cc-by-nd-4.0.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Health care providers and immigration advocates say they\u2019ve seen more ICE enforcement in and around the state\u2019s hospitals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-543762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}