Washington, DC — Ahead of President Trump’s State of the Union address tonight, America’s Voice has released a new fact sheet, “Brutality, Chaos, and Cruelty: The Verdict on Trump’s Mass Deportation Machine,” detailing what you need to know about the reality of immigration enforcement. The fact sheet details how the Trump administration has chosen an anti-immigrant campaign led by mass deportation over investing in American families – prioritizing ideological cruelty while gutting healthcare, food assistance, and undermining public trust, confidence and safety.
As America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas wrote in her new Substack post, “The State of the Immigration Debate Ahead of the State of the Union Address,” “Americans are witnessing in real time what an inhumane enforcement-only approach looks like—and they’re repulsed by it… The state of the union on immigration is clear: Americans reject Trump’s/Miller’s dystopian vision for America. And in addition to dismantling Trump and Miller’s repressive system, we must overhaul the immigration system in ways consistent with our American values and interests.”
Read our full factsheet below “Brutality, Chaos, and Cruelty: The Verdict on Trump’s Mass Deportation Machine”
Since Trump’s last State of the Union address, his anti-immigrant, mass deportation operation has unleashed widespread violence, shredded constitutional protections, torn families apart, and diverted critical resources from public safety. ICE has become a militarized force operating in the shadows—without accountability, targeting children and families, and draining billions from healthcare, food assistance, and community services.
Ahead of Trump’s State of the Union speech, here’s what you need to know about the reality of his immigration enforcement:
ICE agents operate without accountability, concealing their identities and evading oversight while violating constitutional rights.
- ICE agents are systematically concealing their identities with masks and unmarked vehicles.
- The administration has gutted training standards while recruiting an army of unvetted agents.
- ICE operates with far less oversight than other law enforcement agencies, blocking even basic accountability measures.
- ICE is conducting warrantless raids and using military-grade weaponry against civilians.
Federal agents have transformed civil immigration enforcement into militarized operations with dire consequences for citizens and non-citizens alike.
- 2025 was the deadliest year on record for individuals in ICE detention, with 32 deaths reported in custody.
- Federal agents have shot more than 20 people and injured 9 since June 2025, resulting in at least 5 deaths.
- Pregnant women and children are not spared: a pregnant U.S. citizen woman had the door of her home blown off during a raid, infants are being deported, and a U.S. citizen child with cancer was made to lie on a cold floor as she awaited deportation with her family.
- In numerous cases documented across the country, from the deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good to a U.S. citizen woman shot five times by Border Patrol to a U.S. citizen man tased in the face while being detained, violent tactics have been escalating across the country.
ICE is terrorizing children, separating families, and violating safe spaces.
- The number of children in ICE detention has skyrocketed under Trump’s second administration. ICE now holds around 170 children on an average day. On some days, 400+ children were detained.
- In 2025, ICE sent 600 children to federal shelters, with many held for longer than average lengths during prior administrations.
- ICE operations are devastating school attendance nationwide and traumatizing children.
- Family separation is escalating, with children entering foster care.
- Federal agents are violating safe spaces in schools, hospitals, and places of worship.
ICE’s record $85 billion budget is draining resources from healthcare, food assistance, and critical public safety priorities.
- ICE’s budget has skyrocketed to $85 billion while the administration cuts $1 trillion from healthcare and $186 billion from food assistance.
- Critical public safety resources are being diverted from protecting Americans to conducting immigration raids. 80% of ATF agents pulled from gun trafficking and bomb investigations, 50% of DEA agents diverted from fighting drug cartels and fentanyl, and 20% of FBI time now spent on immigration instead of violent crime and terrorism.
- Hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars are funding detention warehouse expansion – despite bipartisan opposition from red and blue states objecting to these facilities.
- Enforcement operations are devastating local economies, as shown in Minneapolis.
The message is clear: The Trump administration has chosen mass deportation over American families – prioritizing ideological cruelty while gutting healthcare, food assistance, and real public safety.
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