photo credit: Taylor Guzek
Around 30 years ago, my dad left everything and everyone he knew or loved back home in India with the intent of pursuing better opportunities in the “land of the free”. He came with the purpose of providing a better future for his children in a country claimed to be a melting pot of different cultures all over the world. Just like him, there are millions upon millions of immigrants coming to this country with the same dreams — dreams that are being withheld because of President Trump and his harsh enforcement of ICE on immigration.
There were around 53.3 million immigrants living in the United States in January 2025, a record high, but just five months later in June, the population started to decrease to 51.9 million according to the Pew Research Center. The decrease can be accounted for mostly by ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Their main object is to uphold the immigration law and target threats to national security and the safety of the public, according to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. However, since the increase in ICE operations in the past year, even people who were asylum seekers have found themselves forcefully detained and sent to Texas from Minnesota to face deportation, according to CNN.
Legal status in America has always been a long standing cause of disagreements with many people, including the president, claiming that “illegal aliens” need to be stopped from entering the nation. The majority of the time, though, people are fleeing crime or hoping for better economic opportunities in America. There is also the case of a student or work visa expiring, which then leads to illegal status.
The U.S. immigration system is not only old and restrictive but also time consuming. People in my life have a hard time coming across legal status in the United States, even while coming legally and acquiring a VISA, which are legal but temporary documents allowing someone’s stay in the country.
The next step after getting a VISA is then applying for a green card, but there’s a long waiting time to receive one. In my own life, I know many who have had to wait 10 years or more to just get a green card. But still, even with a green card, a person isn’t guaranteed safe from ICE and can face deportation.
One of the root causes of unrest in American people because of ICE is the fact that more often than not, ICE is detaining innocent people unwillingly with brute force. Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his son, Liam Conejo Ramos, were detained in Minnesota earlier this month, with the latter being a 5 -year-old boy having just arrived home from school. Millions of immigrants live in fear every day now, staying in their houses in case of an altercation with ICE, which then leads to their deportation.
The Trump administration has stated that they have deported 605,000 people from Jan. 20 and Dec. 10, 2025. There have also been around 1.9 million people who deported themselves voluntarily after the administration’s aggressive tactics to raise fears and advocate for them leaving to avoid being detained. In November 2025, there were around 65,000 people being detained in detention centers; many of these people’s families went days and even weeks without knowing their location, according to BBC News.
There has been a spotlight on Minnesota recently with the high amount of ICE officers concentrated in the state. It has also been where Renee Good was shot and murdered in her car after trying to pull away from an ICE officer. The shooting occurred on Jan. 7, and not even three weeks later, on Jan. 24, Alex Pretti was also shot and killed by an ICE officer, with the administration painting both victims as “terrorists” attacking the ICE agents. These two shootings, unfortunately, aren’t the only ones that have happened as well, according to PBS News.
ICE has shown to not only cause fear in communities but also extreme external harm as well. There is absolutely no justifiable reason for innocent people to constantly live in fear of being stripped away from everything they know and love because of their desire for a better life.
This is a time when it has been hard for many to feel powerless and to lose all hope, but there are still initiatives to take to abolish ICE. Calling local senators in Congress and urging them to vote for the defunding of ICE in upcoming bills is a crucial way to help out and staying educated and knowing one’s right is also beneficial. Also, remembering this country was built on the backs of immigrants and they’re an indispensable part of our nation.
