ICE Blocks Hospital ER Entrance in Los Angeles as Immigration Arrests Continue

An ICE hospital blockade in Los Angeles shut the ambulance entrance of a major hospital for about two hours late on Friday, November 6, 2026, as masked federal agents in body armour stood across the driveway, in the clearest sign yet that immigration arrests are going on unabated despite President Donald Trump's misgivings after the Republicans' midterm wipeout.

The confrontation at Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights came just three days after the November 3 midterm elections. The Associated Press reported that arrests have continued at full pace since the vote, with operations in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Alabama in the days after the election.

Key Points

• Masked ICE agents in body armour blocked the ambulance entrance of Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, late on Friday, November 6, into early Saturday, November 7, 2026.
• Ambulances were diverted to other hospitals for about two hours while the agents stood across the entrance, after bringing a detainee in for treatment.
• Hospital president Daniel Fontoura said the agents' line across the entrance was not requested or authorised, and that White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement.
• At least two people were detained outside the hospital, whom rapid response groups identified as US citizens, and two people were arrested for assaulting federal agents.
• DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin posted the day after the election that "Deportations will continue" and that ICE takes no days off, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and Election Day.

What Happened

Late on Friday, November 6, into the early hours of Saturday, November 7, 2026, masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in body armour formed a line across the ambulance entrance of Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights, in East Los Angeles. The agents had brought a detainee into the hospital for treatment, and then remained at the entrance.

For about two hours, ambulances arriving at the hospital were diverted to other hospitals. White Memorial is a major community hospital serving one of the most densely populated parts of the city, so the diversion meant patients who would normally have been treated there had to be taken elsewhere, adding precious minutes to their journeys.

Hospital president Daniel Fontoura said the agents' presence at the entrance had not been requested or authorised: White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement. Outside the hospital, at least two people were detained by the agents. Rapid response groups — community volunteers who monitor immigration enforcement in Los Angeles — identified both as US citizens. Two other people were arrested for assaulting federal agents, according to Bill Essayli, the top Justice Department prosecutor in Los Angeles. The Department of Homeland Security declined to discuss the operation, saying only: "ICE does not target hospitals, schools, or churches."

The ICE Hospital Blockade at White Memorial

What is known about the night is a short chain of facts. The agents arrived with a detainee who needed medical treatment — people in immigration custody are regularly taken to hospital when they fall ill or are injured. What happened next was not routine. Instead of leaving once the detainee was inside, the agents took up positions across the ambulance entrance, and for roughly two hours the entrance was effectively closed.

Background: Arrests Continue After the Midterms

The White Memorial blockade did not happen in isolation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record 483,200 people in fiscal year 2026, the highest annual total in the agency's history, beating the previous record of 442,640 set in fiscal 2025. ICE also reported more than 491,000 immigration arrests in the year, another agency record, and the total was nearly 78 percent higher than the 271,484 deportations recorded in fiscal 2024.

But the scale of the enforcement drive has carried a political cost. In an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes", President Trump said of the deportations of longtime immigrants: "I think it was too tough." Exit polls found that 58 percent of voters believed enforcement had gone too far. The Associated Press reported that despite those misgivings, arrests are going on unabated. On Saturday, a married couple from Orlando was arrested at Phoenix airport en route to a funeral, and two Venezuelan brothers were apprehended in Alabama on their way back to college.

Reactions and Statements

The hospital's response was swift and unusually direct. President Daniel Fontoura said the agents' line across the ambulance entrance was not requested or authorised, and that White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement. Hospitals in California are not required to cooperate with federal immigration officers, but a public statement of this kind — issued while the operation was still fresh — is rare.

Community leaders were blunt. State Senator Maria Elena Durazo delivered her letter to hospital leaders in person, demanding no cooperation with federal immigration operations and a written response by November 21. Mayor-elect Nithya Raman's visit to the hospital on Saturday was itself a statement. Rapid response groups said the two people detained outside the hospital were US citizens.

Why It Matters

The blockade matters for three reasons. First, patient safety: diverting ambulances for two hours meant longer journeys for patients whose conditions may have been time-critical. Second, trust: if immigrant families believe that going to hospital could bring them into contact with immigration agents, they may delay seeking care. Third, what the midterm election did — and did not — change: voters said enforcement had gone too far, and the president himself said it had been "too tough", yet the arrests continued at the same pace.

What Happens Next

State Senator Durazo has given the hospital until November 21 to respond in writing to her demand that it not cooperate with federal immigration operations. The hospital's answer will set a precedent for other hospitals in California. The coming weeks — including the holiday period, when the secretary said ICE takes no days off — will show whether the enforcement pace holds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened at White Memorial hospital?
Late on Friday, November 6, into early Saturday, November 7, 2026, masked ICE agents blocked the ambulance entrance of White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, for about two hours. Ambulances were diverted to other hospitals.

Why were the agents at the hospital?
The agents had brought a detainee in for treatment. The hospital said their line across the entrance was not requested or authorised, and that White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement.

Was anyone detained?
At least two people were detained outside the hospital, whom rapid response groups identified as US citizens. Two others were arrested for assaulting federal agents, according to the top Justice Department prosecutor in Los Angeles.

Are immigration arrests continuing after the midterms?
Yes. The Associated Press reported arrests are going on unabated, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin posted that "Deportations will continue" and ICE takes no days off, including holidays.

What has the hospital been asked to do?
State Senator Maria Elena Durazo handed hospital leaders a letter demanding no cooperation with federal immigration operations and a written response by November 21. Mayor-elect Nithya Raman visited the hospital on Saturday, November 7.