Study Links Immigration Enforcement to Fewer ED Visits, More Admissions
A study published Oct. 5 in JAMA Network Open analyzed electronic health records from three Los Angeles County safety-net hospitals to examine how increased immigration enforcement and anti-immigrant rhetoric in 2025 affected emergency department and inpatient utilization. Researchers found sharp, persistent drops in weekly ED visits among foreign-born patients, especially those born in Mexico, Central/South America, and Asia, while visits among U.S.-born patients were unchanged. At the same time, inpatient admission rates rose significantly for foreign-born patients but stayed flat for U.S.-born patients, suggesting delayed care-seeking led to higher-acuity presentations. The effects persisted at least 12 weeks after enforcement increased, though the magnitude of reduced ED use diminished over time.