Immigration arrests near Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, have prompted warnings that enforcement around hospitals could discourage immigrants from seeking treatment, even when patients and medical facilities are not the targets.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed 10 arrests in Danville on Sept. 2, when officers stopped construction workers leaving a hospital expansion project. ICE, local police and Geisinger said the arrests occurred on nearby roads, outside the medical center's property, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported.
The operation's proximity to the hospital is central to advocates' concerns. They say accounts of immigration arrests near places associated with medical care can spread fear beyond the workers involved, reaching families already reluctant to seek treatment or disclose their immigration status.
"People are afraid to go anywhere," Mirna Miranda, Pennsylvania organizing director for immigrant-rights group We Are CASA, told the Capital-Star. "It seems like [ICE] has no frontiers."
The reporting does not establish that anyone skipped treatment because of the Danville operation. Broader survey findings, however, show that immigration concerns were affecting healthcare decisions before these arrests.
A 2025 Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times survey cited by the Capital-Star found that 14% of immigrant adults said they or a family member had avoided medical care since January 2025 because of immigration-related concerns. Among respondents classified as likely undocumented immigrants, the share was 48%.
The same survey found that 51% of immigrant adults were somewhat or very concerned about sharing their immigration status with healthcare providers. That figure reached 78% among likely undocumented immigrants; the findings did not specifically examine Danville.
The arrests follow the Department of Homeland Security's reversal, on the first day of President Donald Trump's second term, of a longstanding policy generally restricting immigration enforcement in and around healthcare facilities, schools and churches.
DHS and ICE spokespeople did not directly answer the Capital-Star's questions about enforcement near medical centers or its effects on access to care. An ICE spokesperson defended the agency's approach, saying: "What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S. - full stop."
The number detained in connection with the construction project remains disputed. Advocates suggested arrests, including later actions and those at worker housing, could exceed 40, but a witness said some missing workers might have fled or simply not returned to work.
Mahoning Township Police Chief Frederick Dyroff III said his officers transferred five people to ICE on Sept. 2. He placed police vehicles roughly a quarter-mile to a half-mile from the hospital and declined to say whether departmental resources had been used to monitor the site.
Witnesses described unmarked SUVs they believed were conducting surveillance before the arrests. ICE declined to discuss investigative practices, while Geisinger spokesperson Chris Murphy said responsibility for checking construction workers' employment eligibility rested with the construction manager.
A separate operation had previously targeted hospital construction workers elsewhere in central Pennsylvania. ICE confirmed that 24 workers were arrested in Centre County in August while traveling to a construction site at Mount Nittany Medical Center, according to the Capital-Star.
