Since January, the administration’s aggressive mass deportation crusade has swept far beyond Trump’s promise of targeting the violent criminals. Instead, it has unleashed sweeping abuses of power that reach deep into everyday American life. Here are twelve examples:
- U.S. CITIZENS TARGETED: American citizens are being swept up in Trump’s immigration dragnet and detained for days or weeks despite clear proof of their citizenship. A woman nine months pregnant was handcuffed in her own home. A city alderwoman was arrested at a hospital simply for asking to see a warrant. In one case, agents dumped a U.S. citizen on a roadside after interrogating him, throwing his wallet out the car window. A Native American tribal member born in Arizona was nearly deported due to a “clerical error” even though she had her tribal identification with her.
- MILITARY VETERANS UNDER ATTACK: Those who wore the uniform and served our nation are now being targeted for detention and deportation – despite their service and sacrifice. From coast to coast, both immigrant and U.S. citizen servicemembers have been caught in sweeping enforcement actions – detained, denied stability, and in some cases forced to self-deport.
- FAMILIES SEPARATED – AGAIN: U.S. citizen children are being torn from their immigrant parents, inflicting trauma that will last a lifetime. More than 100 children – from newborns to teenagers – have been left stranded without parents this year. Among them: a 12-year-old who lost her only living parent after agents took her father.
- SCHOOL SAFETY LOST: Once considered protected spaces, schools are now being targeted. Students are being stopped by ICE during school hours, and daycare workers are being detained in front of young children at drop-off – terrifying children and disrupting learning environments that are supposed to be safe.
- RELIGIOUS SPACES NO LONGER SACRED: The Trump administration has abandoned long-standing policies that protected houses of worship from immigration enforcement. Religious sanctuaries are being raided without explanation, shattering trust in revered community spaces.
- HOSPITALS PATROLLED: Hospitals – also long off-limits – are now being patrolled by ICE. Healthcare workers report agents inside medical facilities and are pleading for clear guidance on how to protect vulnerable patients seeking care.
- WORKPLACES RAIDED: Immigration operations are devastating workplaces nationwide, including at a Newark seafood market, a Georgia Hyundai manufacturing site, and an Omaha meat production plant. Even employers who followed hiring rules are watching their operations collapse.
- LOCAL ECONOMIES CRIPPLED: Mass deportation raids are decimating local economies, as customers are too frightened to even walk the streets in some once-vibrant, small-business filled communities. Business owners report empty aisles, lost revenue, and workers too scared to show up – a cascading crisis that threatens to break entire local economies.
- PUBLIC SAFETY RESOURCES DIVERTED: Trump’s deportation obsession is diverting critical federal law enforcement resources from serious public safety threats. Agents who investigated gun trafficking, drug cartels, and violent crime are now spending their time on immigration enforcement. Thousands have been pulled from assignments to survey storm-damage or combat child exploitation and human trafficking – including agents who rescued thousands of child victims.
- MASKED AGENTS SPREAD FEAR: Federal immigration officers are carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown behind masks and in plain clothes, often without displaying badges or agency markings and using unmarked vehicles – creating confusion about whether they’re legitimate officers or impersonators.
- JUSTICE DENIED: Agents are making warrantless arrests without determining if people are flight risks, and immigrants showing up for their scheduled court hearings are being arrested and detained, with judges funneling people into fast-track deportations without hearings. Meanwhile, the administration has fired over 90 immigration judges across the country this year, including those who granted asylum at higher rates than their peers.
- LEGAL IMMIGRANTS DETAINED: From professors with H-1B visas to longtime DACA recipients and even green card holders, people with lawful immigration status are being detained and threatened with deportation. Some are detained over social media posts, while others are held until federal judges intervene.
