Public health
Study finds fewer emergency visits among foreign-born patients after ICE raids
Visits by people born outside the U.S. to three Los Angeles emergency rooms fell after immigration enforcement increased, while hospital admissions rose.
A study published Monday in JAMA Network Open found that visits by people born outside the U.S. to three Los Angeles emergency rooms dropped precipitously after immigration enforcement increased last year, STAT reported. The researchers examined changes after ICE raids and said heightened enforcement may affect whether immigrant patients seek acute care.
At the same time, hospital admissions among that population rose. The study puts numbers to concerns that immigrant patients are avoiding medical treatment amid mass ICE raids, increased arrests and deadly encounters with federal agents, STAT reported. The researchers said the pattern may carry negative health and economic consequences for patients and the systems that care for them.
