On a frigid January morning in downtown Minneapolis, a handful of health care workers at Hennepin County Medical Center glanced nervously at the emergency drop-off area. It was January 6, 2026, and the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside the hospital sent a ripple of alarm through the staff. According to MPR News, the sight of federal immigration officers at a major public hospital—a place that, for many, should be a sanctuary in times of crisis—raised immediate questions and concerns about the reach and tactics of federal enforcement in community spaces.
This incident wasn’t isolated. In fact, it was just one in a series of events that have put ICE and Border Patrol actions under the microscope in several states. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, speaking to GBH’s Boston Public Radio, said she’s in close contact with officials in Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon, and other states, all of whom are grappling with what she described as “unprecedented attacks, in many ways, by ICE agents and sometimes Border Patrol agents within their communities.” Campbell emphasized the need for accountability, stating, “I’m continuing to stay in contact with them to support them in how we hold ICE and federal administration officials accountable. It is not easy for us to do, but we are all on the same page that accountability is necessary.”
Across the country in Boston, the impact of ICE’s presence is being felt acutely in the city’s courthouses. Data obtained by GBH News reporter Sarah Betancourt revealed that in 2025 alone, federal immigration agents detained at least 54 people in Boston’s municipal courthouses, with at least one more detained in the first two weeks of 2026. The numbers are even more striking when you consider that nearly half of those detentions—20 of the 54—occurred at the East Boston courthouse, a location known for serving a large immigrant community. Meanwhile, at Boston’s Moakley Federal Courthouse in the Seaport, another 110 people were detained by immigration agents in 2025, according to data from the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley and UCLA.
So, how do these detainments typically unfold? According to GBH News, the process often begins when local police arrest someone and share their fingerprints with an FBI database. The FBI then shares that data with ICE, which can trigger a detainment. But it’s not just people with criminal cases who are at risk. Jennifer Klein, director of the Immigration Impact Unit at Massachusetts’ Committee for Public Counsel Services, explained, “We also are seeing ICE make arrests of people coming to court on their own, so they will wait and hear the name of the person when their case is called and then they will make that arrest as soon as that hearing is completed.” That means even individuals attending court for civil matters—like small claims or housing disputes—can find themselves detained by ICE agents waiting in the wings.
This practice has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts and immigrant justice advocates, who argue that it undermines the very foundation of the American legal system. Juan Soler, rapid response coordinator for the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts, told GBH News, “Courts are meant to uphold due process, not serve as pipelines to detention. When ICE uses courthouses as staging grounds for arrests, it turns justice into a trap and violates the fundamental promise of equal protection under the law. Massachusetts must act to ensure that those most impacted can seek justice without fear—because a legal system built on intimidation is neither fair nor constitutional.”
The strategy of detaining individuals at or near public institutions—be it a hospital in Minneapolis or a courthouse in Boston—has far-reaching implications. Hospitals and courts have traditionally been considered sensitive locations, places where people should be able to seek help or justice without fear of immigration enforcement. The increasing presence of ICE at these sites, however, is changing the calculus for many immigrants and their families. Some advocates worry that fear of detention could deter people from seeking medical care or participating in the legal process, potentially worsening health outcomes and undermining the rule of law.
Attorney General Campbell’s remarks reflect a growing sense of urgency among state officials. She noted that while it’s difficult to hold federal agencies accountable, there is a shared commitment among attorneys general in affected states to push for oversight and reform. “I also hope we do not see what we’re seeing in Illinois right now, in Oregon and in Minnesota, here in Massachusetts,” Campbell told GBH’s Boston Public Radio, alluding to the spread of aggressive ICE tactics across the country.
For many, the debate over ICE’s courthouse and hospital detainments is about more than just law enforcement—it’s about the fundamental rights of due process and equal protection. Legal proceedings, whether criminal or civil, depend on the presence and participation of all parties. When people are detained upon arrival or immediately after their cases are heard, it can disrupt the proceedings and deny justice not only to the individual but also to others involved in the case. As GBH News noted, “that can mean the legal proceeding they came to court for has no way to proceed without them.”
The tension between federal immigration enforcement and local institutions is not new, but the scale and visibility of recent actions have brought the issue to a head. In Boston, the data paints a stark picture: dozens detained in municipal courthouses, with East Boston standing out as a particular hotspot. The Moakley Federal Courthouse, too, has seen a surge in detentions. These numbers, while significant on their own, represent only a fraction of the broader landscape of immigration enforcement across the United States.
Back in Minneapolis, the sight of ICE agents at Hennepin County Medical Center’s emergency drop-off area remains a vivid reminder of the uncertainty and anxiety that can grip entire communities. For health care workers, the priority is always patient care—but the intrusion of federal enforcement at the hospital’s threshold complicates that mission, introducing fear and hesitation where there should be trust and safety.
As the national conversation continues, the actions of ICE and Border Patrol agents in public spaces are likely to remain a flashpoint for debate. State officials, legal advocates, and community leaders are calling for greater oversight and a renewed commitment to the principles that underpin the American justice system: fairness, due process, and equal protection for all. Whether those calls will translate into concrete changes remains to be seen, but for now, the debate is anything but settled.
