From HBO Max‘s The Pitt to Disney+‘s Daredevil: Born Again, television shows in 2026 are featuring timely ICE storylines that highlight the harrowing tactics, harsh treatment, and ruthless targeting of immigrants in the United States.

On Thursday, April 30, ABC’s popular first responder procedural 9-1-1 joined the ranks with a heartbreaking development that saw ICE agents raid a hospital and forcefully detain migrants that the 118 rescued from an apartment building in last week’s episode.

After “Where There’s Smoke” gave viewers a glimpse at the torturous conditions the migrants endured as part of a human trafficking operation, Season 9, Episode 17, “I Got You Babe,” saw Esteban (Oscar Miranda) and the rest of the group recovering from smoke inhalation and other injuries in the hospital. After the 118 spoke with Detective Hooks (Josh Stamberg) about keeping the migrants safe and letting them help with the investigation, Eddie (Ryan Guzman) and Hen (Aisha Hinds) gathered donations and looked into elaborate VISA and protective order processes to help them get settled.

Esteban sincerely thanked them for the help, saying, “I don’t know what to say, in any language. There are no words for how grateful we are. We’ll be sad to leave.” Just as Eddie assured him they were working to figure out a way for them to legally stay in the country, however, armed ICE agents wearing bullet proof vests burst through the hospital doors and put the floor on lockdown.

“Any and all detainees from last week’s incident should consider themselves hereby discharged and on route to our local holding facility, where you will be processed for unlawful entry into the United States and be deported,” an agent shouted.

“What the hell?” Eddie muttered before he and Hen confronted agents to get answers. “These people have not been discharged yet. They’re still recovering from injuries! From smoke inhalation,” Hen explained, emphasizing their humanity in response to the agents calling them “detainees.” When the agent told Hen that medical assistance could be requested from the detention center, Eddie stressed that everyone there was part of an open investigation led by Detective Hooks. But agents didn’t care. “They’ll be secure,” an agent claimed. “You mean imprisoned,” Hen replied. In a gutting line that succinctly highlights today’s divisive viewpoints on ICE, the agent snapped, “Call it what you like.”

Though the scene was only a minute long, it captured the high-stakes and emotional gravity of the situation, showing glimpses of chaos, terror, and resistance present in real-life ICE detainments. People screamed, cried, and sprinted. Masked agents aggressively handled men, women, children, and families with no regard for their autonomy, emotions, or basic human rights. As the agonizing scene unfolded around them, Eddie and Hen — both deeply affected by the people’s pain and helplessness — tried to stop it. They attempted to reason with agents, and Eddie even used physical force to try to intervene, but agents took everyone, leaving the 118 members behind, fuming.

Based on recent events like the murders of mother of three Renee Good and nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis, would Eddie have been let off the hook so easily after physically trying to deescalate the situation? Some felt that The Pitt Season 2, Episode 11 “5 PM” — which showed nurse Jesse Van Horn (Ned Brower)  aggressively taken away by agents after trying to protect a patient brought in as a detainee — was being “too kind” when portraying ICE. And after Eddie’s interaction, perhaps you could say the same about 9-1-1. But both shows still risked making timely political statements while raising awareness about the very real issue of ICE interference in healthcare facilities. When Eddie, Hen, and Athena sought legal assistance later in the episode, 9-1-1 also took the opportunity to acknowledge how difficult it is to assist and advocate for people once they’re in ICE custody.

Guzman also recognized the power of the timely narrative and felt a responsibility and desire to be a part of it — both for himself and for Eddie. During a panel at Creation Entertainment’s recent RescueVerse fan convention, the 9-1-1 star noted he had conversations with showrunner Tim Minear about an upcoming story that resulted in Minear rewriting and charting a new direction for Eddie. In an interview with TV Fanatic, Guzman further teased, “There are events in the show that are very topical and to not have Eddie a part of these events would have been a overlook on an opportunity to do something for my community.”

TV tackling ICE storylines isn’t new. (I still regularly think of Superstore‘s Season 4 finale, which aired in 2019 and showed ICE agents arrest Nico Santos’ character Mateo.) But regardless of the scene’s length or depth, the fact that 9-1-1 aired this storyline in a primetime ABC slot at this point in history was important. And they deserve some serious credit for that.

Stay tuned for more 9-1-1 Season 9 coverage from Decider.