MINNEAPOLIS — A severe healthcare accessibility crisis is unfolding across Minnesota as federal immigration enforcement operations create widespread fear among immigrant communities, resulting in dangerous delays in medical treatment and critical care avoidance. Medical professionals report unprecedented levels of patient absenteeism since the Trump administration revoked longstanding protections that previously shielded hospitals, schools, and churches from immigration enforcement activities.
Physicians across the state describe troubling cases: pregnant women skipping essential prenatal appointments, diabetic patients avoiding insulin pickups, and individuals with treatable conditions developing severe complications due to delayed care. In one critical instance, medical personnel discovered a patient in active labor at home after she missed her clinic visit due to enforcement fears. Another concerning case involves a kidney cancer patient who disappeared within detention facilities without access to his medication, despite legal interventions to secure his prescriptions.
The situation escalated dramatically in January when the Department of Homeland Security deployed approximately 2,000 federal agents to the Minneapolis area under ‘Operation Metro Surge’—reportedly the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. Government filings indicate over 3,000 arrests of undocumented individuals during this initiative.
Dr. Roli Dwivedi, past president of the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, characterized the current environment as medical facilities ‘under siege,’ noting that even veteran healthcare workers have never witnessed such ‘chaos and fear,’ including during the peak COVID-19 crisis. The anxiety extends to hospital staff from various immigrant backgrounds—including Latin America, Somalia, and Myanmar—who now fear reporting to work.
This enforcement surge has triggered multiple consequences: increased requests for potentially unsafe home births, heightened tensions between local and federal authorities, and tragic outcomes including the death of a mother of three during an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Recent protests have extended to religious institutions, with demonstrators disrupting a St. Paul church service due to its pastoral connection to ICE leadership, prompting a Department of Justice civil rights investigation.