Psychiatrists and Other Physicians Interfacing With ICE: Legal and Ethical Challenges

Given the recent expansion of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE's) jurisdiction to include previously protected areas, including hospitals, physicians are now more likely to encounter ICE officers. However, guidance from lawmakers, institutions, and professional societies on how to navigate these encounters is limited and, at times, contradictory. This column focuses on an interaction between ICE and psychiatry in an emergency setting to explore some challenges that individual physicians, particularly psychiatrists, may face when attempting to practice within legal constraints and ethical guidelines, highlighting the need for more robust guidance.