Across many communities of color, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) isn’t just an agency — it’s a source of fear. According to their official website, the goal of ICE is to “protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.” They primarily target people in the Latinx community, and they still apply violent forces in attempts to detain accused illegal immigrants of all races and ethnic groups. Despite ICE being required to have a warrant, they proceed to intrude into people’s homes, creating disturbances without any legal permission. Who’s to say that they wouldn’t start going onto school campuses and churches in attempts to detain children and people attending church?
Many of these victims are falsely imprisoned or killed. U.S. citizens are being targeted and are fearing for their lives due to this violent process consisting of forceful separation of families and brutality. One arrest can shatter an entire community.
“We’re looking to get the criminals out right now…we’re focused on the murders, the drug dealers,” President Trump said at a press conference on January 20, 2026. As of November 30, 2025, TracReports states that 73.6 percent of the current detainees have no criminal convictions or major offenses. Therefore, this large percentage is full of people who are from different countries who seek refuge, employment, and better living conditions and opportunities for their families, while causing no disturbances.
Though these people could indeed have just applied and gone through the authorization process to be a legal immigrant, the process can take years. Each step required to be a legal citizen is very time-consuming, which can be too long for people in need from different countries in need.
Citizens should not have to be afraid in their own homes, schools and churches. The U.S. is globally perceived as a free country with strong foundational liberties, but the contradiction is loud when people actually try to move here and thrive in their everyday lives. The operation is reshaping the lives of people of color.
