Federal immigration raids are sending ripples through Los Angeles County services, causing patients to skip medical appointments, reject free or reduced-price food or meals, or not attend immigration hearings — all for fear of being swept up and arrested.

One consequence of avoiding preventative medical care is that a health problem can worsen, and fearful residents head to hospital emergency rooms where staff are required to take all comers, causing long waits and stressing the county’s healthcare budget, the county reported.

Such secondary consequences raised by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis resulted in the passage of a board action on Tuesday, July 8, that asks county departments to find innovative ways to provide services, such as telephonic doctor visits and home delivery of groceries and mailed pharmacy prescriptions to those who are sheltering in place.

“Los Angeles County remains committed to providing health and social services to all residents, regardless of immigration status,” said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, co-author of the motion with Solis.

Since June 6, federal raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have arrested about 1,600 county residents. ICE raids have been caught on personal videos and witnessed by supervisors, in which agents often without uniforms or badges drive in unmarked cars and make arrests.

Horvath cited a 30-year resident who was chased and arrested at a car wash in West Hollywood during a raid. “We know families are being torn apart. Parents are being separated from their children. Any commitment to family values by this administration is what it is: ‘A total lie’,” she said.

The board’s action would provide undocumented parents with rights education, including the right to legally assign someone to take care of their children if the parent or guardian is arrested or deported. The parents would also have phone call privileges to ensure care for their children.

Supervisor Janice Hahn described raids at a car wash business in Torrance, where two men were chased by ICE agents, thrown to the ground and handcuffed. And the arrest of three customers at a tamales stand in Pasadena, overseen by a mother as a source of family revenue, prompted her 14-year-old son to take over the small business after she went into hiding.

On Monday, federal agents entered MacArthur Park west of downtown with about 90 National Guard troops cruising in a dozen military vehicles and carrying long guns. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection’s Gregory Bovino told the media that Los Angeles should get used to the raids, something he called “the new normal.”

Solis said the action at MacArthur Park interrupted medical and social service teams from the county and the city of Los Angeles who usually serve 100 new patients per day — but not that day. Some of the patients who needed help were abusing illegal drugs. Members of St. John’s Community Health Clinic who were providing care to homeless individuals in the park shut down their efforts, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said.

Though the city reported no arrests, Solis said the action was intended to scare immigrants from going to work, or to doctors’ appointments or from visiting county healthcare providers.

“Our community members are afraid to seek care and services, risking their own health and well-being,” said Myra Hendricks of Reimagine LA Coalition at the county board meeting. She and others asked that dollars for the L.A. County Probation Department be used to beef up healthcare services.

Preliminary data for June found that county hospitals saw between a 10% and 25% reduction in emergency room and urgent car visits in June. The average “no show” rates for medical services have gone up by 5%, said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the county’s Department of Health Services (DHS).

Ghaly said the department has seen a huge increase in telephone doctor appointments as a result of immigrant patients staying home.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South Los Angeles was packed on a recent day when she visited. She said the federal government is eliminating eligibility for undocumented immigrants on Medicaid — the low-income federal healthcare plan. Also starting next year, Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income people and those with disabilities, will no longer accept new enrollees who are not legal residents and eliminates long-term care and dental coverage for the undocumented.

“You are right,” said Solis. “They will end up in our emergency and trauma areas and that will cost 10 times more.”

The board’s motion asks the DHS and other county departments to assess the number of cancellations at county hospitals and clinics, and assess whether emergency rooms are seeing more patients. A report will come back to the board in 30 days.

A few members of the public said the county should not provide extra or any funding for healthcare and food services for undocumented residents.

“Our American heroes have to scrap to get resources. You can’t even take care of the people who have been waiting,” said Richelle Callies, who said she didn’t want illegal immigrants in her community.

Raymond Williams said the county should instead find money for reparations for Black residents who are descendants of slaves and faced discrimination for hundreds of years. “We want L.A. County to start looking out for the Black community,” he told the supervisors.