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Immigration enforcement doesn’t just shape borders—it shapes health outcomes.

In this episode of Emerge in EM, Dr. Mohamed Hagahmed is joined by Dr. Italo Brown for a candid, clinician-to-clinician conversation about how immigration enforcement affects patient care, trust, and public health.

Originally recorded as a live Instagram discussion, this conversation was brought to the podcast because the issues raised were too important to disappear after a moment on social media. From emergency departments to outpatient clinics, fear of immigration enforcement is changing how and when patients seek care—often leading to delayed presentations, worse outcomes, and preventable harm.

Together, Dr. Hagahmed and Dr. Brown unpack:

• How fear of enforcement becomes a barrier to care
• What clinicians are seeing at the bedside when patients delay treatment
• Why immigration enforcement is a public health issue—not just a policy debate
• How trust, or lack of it, directly impacts health outcomes
• Practical steps healthcare workers and institutions can take to protect patients

This episode challenges the idea that healthcare is neutral in the face of fear and structural harm. It reframes immigration enforcement as a patient safety issue and calls on clinicians, health systems, and public health professionals to acknowledge their role in protecting access to care.

As the first episode of 2026, this conversation sets the tone for the year ahead—centering equity, courage, and accountability in emergency medicine and beyond.

Care without fear should never be controversial.

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📱 Connect with me for more educational content, clinical pearls, podcast clips, and behind-the-scenes updates:

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Thank you for being part of the EMERGE in EM community. Until next time, stay curious, keep learning, and continue to EMERGE.