Link to Youtube Video on ICE: https://www.youtube.com/@LiyahKemp-o4k
Since returning to office in 2025, President Donald Trump dramatically expanded immigration enforcement efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which includes carrying out raids, detentions, and deportations. Deportation experts estimated above 400,000 people were detained within the first 250 days of Trump’s second presidency. Prior to Trump’s presidency there were about 185,000 immigrant removals, which is less than half the amount in 2025 (Peri et al., 2025).
The origin of the U.S.’s punitive immigration system can be traced back to earlier policies, such as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 under President Ronald Reagan. While granting amnesty —a pardon for a specific class of people who committed an offense— this also introduced workplace raids that incite fear among undocumented communities. These systems expanded under President Bill Clinton’s administration through the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act that increased deportation and allowed local law enforcement to act as immigration officers (Peri et al., 2025). These policies resulted in the separation of families and increased fear in immigrant communities.
As my grandmother said, “ICE es injusticia que cansa y enoja a la inmensa comunidad extranjera”, which translates to “ICE is an injustice that exhausts and angers the immense immigrant community.” It is not just about the law enforcement, but about the emotional state of the people who are constantly feeling targeted, exhausted, and afraid.
When the justification for immigration enforcement arises, the conversation typically surrounds the idea of “law and order.” However, people need to pay more attention to the way that ICE operates and harms undocumented people, their families, and their communities. ICE not only promotes fear and it deteriorates families, but it also disrupts the economy (Peri et al., 2025).
Justice is defined as fairness and equality to ensure that everyone receives the same treatment, whereas injustice is marked by unfair or biased treatment that violates a person’s rights. ICE upholds unjust laws and produces social and economic harm that outweighs its intended benefits. Undocumented people are not able to live a sustainable life due to the unjust tactics ICE upholds. This demonstrates that deportation is morally wrong and negatively affects the economic structure of this country.
ICE and the Economy
Supporters of strict immigration policies claim that deporting undocumented immigrants protects American workers and improves the American economy. However in 2025, the U.S. experienced negative net migration for the first time in over five decades, meaning more people left than entered the country. This hurts the economy because fewer people slows economic growth by reducing consumer spending and tax contributions (Brookings 2018). When ICE increases deportations, or the environment becomes hostile enough to prompt people to leave on their own, the workforce declines, slowing economic growth. Research observes that declining immigration curbs productivity and economic growth in the future (Brookings 2026).
ICE’s methods affect not only undocumented workers, but also entire industries that depend on immigrant labor, including agriculture, construction, and service industries. For example, in the 1990s, undocumented workers made up 46 percent of the labor force in America. Since then industries have faced shortages, reduced productivity, and economic instability (Brookings 2018).
This also challenges the idea of the American Dream that is based on the belief that the U.S. is a place of opportunity where people are supposed to build a better life for themselves and contribute to society. If the public had more awareness of how immigrants have positively contributed to American growth in the workforce and the economy, why this is an issue, they might be less likely to support ICE’s aggressive approach to enforcement.
Fear as a Tool of Control
In a break from the Biden administration, ICE appears to be targeting people at sensitive locations like hospitals and schools. Under the Trump administration, ICE conducts raids in hospitals and schools in immigrant communities in the early morning hours and works hand-in-hand with local law enforcement authorities to apprehend suspects in highly conspicuous ways. Legal resident immigrants are afraid of being interrogated or mistakenly arrested by ICE. This is creating a chilling effect, when people avoid speaking up or seeking help because they are scared of getting in trouble with law enforcement (Pedraza et al., 2015).
Due to the fear of deportation, immigrants may avoid seeking medical care and even withdraw from society as a whole (Hacker et al., 2011). This is a form of social control that discourages them from accessing their basic needs, leading to worse health outcomes and increasing stress and anxiety. When individuals are not willing to go to the doctor to seek help, small health issues can turn into serious problems.
Furthermore, a report published focused on the effects of fear on public health (Hacker et al., 2011), shows that the practices implemented by ICE are not beneficial to the general public and, therefore, the moral legitimacy of the current practices by ICE has to be questioned. This demonstrates that ICE goes beyond law enforcement and creates long term social and public health consequences.
Family Separation
Five year old boy Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrain Conejo Arias before and after being detained by ICE (Marcos, 2026)
One of the cruelest policies the federal government is enacting is separating kids from their parents. One of the most well-known cases under the Trump administration is the abduction of a five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. On January 20th of 2026, ICE detained Ramos, separating him from his mother and using him as “bait” to detain his father Adrian Conejo Arias after an immigration judge denied their asylum claim to stay in the United States. A shared photo that was taken of Liam, wearing a blue bunny hat, went viral and incited deep concern for people and especially minors in the custody of ICE.
Liam’s detention led American citizens’ protests of thousands of immigration officers occupying the Minneapolis area and the murders of two American citizens by federal officers. After many protests, The Ramoses were released, but Liam’s family still do not know what to expect after the amount of distress this caused for them (NBC News).
Immigration policy changes have led to a massive rise in child detention, with over 6,200 kids held in ICE custody under harsh conditions (The Marshall Project, 2026).
Fear as Policy: The Human Cost of ICE Deportation Practices
When economic hardship, separation of families, and lack of medical care are consequences of immigration policies, the discussion leaves the realm of legality and enters the realm of justice. The current ICE policies are a manifestation of a society that values punishment over humanity and politics over people. Immigration policies based on fear and deportation ultimately undermine the very society they claim to support.
Abusive immigration can be challenged through awareness, support, and political action. Change begins when people decide not to stay silent and instead take action to uphold the dignity and rights of other people. Organizations, such as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), stress that change is possible through collective action. Citizens can contact Congress and urge them to put out ICE funding and authority. Others can also help undocumented people by volunteering and attending their court hearings. Another key aspect is educating people about the “Know Your Rights” resources to raise awareness on legal protections they have when interacting with law enforcement.
ICE policies are not just about politics, but about the people. They are about American communities, and the way in which residents feel safe in their environment. In the way they are being executived, immigration enforcement is a tool of social control that are reinforcing the notion that undocumented people are more vulnerable or disposable than others.
References
Brookings Institution. 2026. Macroeconomic Implications of Immigration Flows in 2025 and 2026: January 2026 Update. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Hacker, Karen, Lisa Anies, Margaret Folb, and Luis Zallman. 2011. “Barriers to Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants: A Literature Review.” Social Science & Medicine 73(2): 201–208. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3159749/
HIAS. n.d. “Seven Ways to Take Action for Immigrants.” Retrieved April 1, 2026 (https://hias.org/news/seven-ways-take-action-immigrant/).
Marcos, Coral Murphy. “Immigration Judge Denies Asylum Claim for Liam Conejo Ramos and His Family | US Immigration | The Guardian.” The Guardian, 19 Mar. 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/19/liam-ramos-denied-asylum-ruling.
NBC News. 2026. “Boy in Bunny Hat Detained with Dad as Asylum Denied.”
Pedraza, Francisco I., and Ling Zhu. “The ‘chilling effect’of America’s new immigration enforcement regime.” Pathways(2015): 13-17.
Peri, Giovanni, and Justin C. Roush. 2025. “Immigration, Labor Markets, and the Evolution of U.S. Policies.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 11(4): 1-25. Retrieved from https://www.rsfjournal.org/content/11/4/1
Orrenius, Pia M., Madeline Zavodny, and Stephanie R. Aaronson. 2025. “The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in the United States.” The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 11(4): 78-101. Retrieved from https://www.rsfjournal.org/content/11/4/78
The Marshall Project. “ICE Has Detained Over 6,200 Children Under Trump.” The Marshall Project, 6 Apr. 2026. Retrieved from https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/04/06/ice-kids-detention-over-6200-trump
