US: Protests Mount Against Trump’s ICE Raids

True to his promise, weeks into Trump’s second administration, the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) has increased raids against immigrant communities across the United States. While Trump has framed his mass deportation efforts as a way to deport “criminal aliens”, i.e. undocumented people accused or convicted of criminal offenses, reports show that many who have been arrested by federal immigration officials are not accused of any crime.

The raids which have resulted in around 800-1,000 daily arrests have been met with strong backlash from people across the country who accuse the Trump administration of criminalizing migrants and violating their fundamental rights.

ICE’s claims do not match up with reality

To support its claims, ICE has been sharing the “results” of its massive operation on social media platforms, claiming that ICE agents have deported “The Worst First” including people accused of being members of gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, or accused of criminal offenses such as firearm possession, drug possession, homicide, and sexual abuse.

However, these cases in no way account for the majority of the 800–1,000 daily arrests that ICE has been making in the last week. For example, according to an NBC News report which looked into ICE statistics from Sunday, January 26, ICE made 1,179 arrests that day, which is significantly over the agency’s official number of 956 arrests. However, according to NBC News, only around 613 of the total arrests were considered “criminal arrests”. The remaining 566 people arrested on that day by ICE, around 47%, were only detained due to their undocumented status, according to the report. All of those detained are held in ICE detention facilities and could be deported at a later date.

Immigration authorities themselves have stated that it is possible that immigrants not accused of any crimes, but with varying forms of immigration status, could be swept up in ICE’s mass arrest and deportation efforts, called “collateral arrests”.

Notably, having undocumented status is a civil offense, not a criminal one. However, it is considered a crime in the US for an undocumented immigrant who was previously deported to re-enter the US without documentation for a second time. ICE reports on their operations over the past week indicate that many of those detained were “guilty” of re-entering the US without documentation.

Raids continue and stoke fear in communities

High-profile ICE raids continue throughout the country and have included targeted house visits and workplace raids. Raids which in some cases may only be targeting one individual, often involve multiple agents not only from ICE, but also other federal and sometimes local law enforcement agencies.

In the case of a workplace raid on a car wash in Philadelphia, ICE agents had reportedly visited a neighboring car dealership several times in the previous weeks asking probing questions and on the day of the raid, ordered it to close while the raid was carried out, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. On January 28, over a dozen ICE agents descended on the car wash and detained seven immigrant workers, including 46-year-old Oscar Guerrero who had been living in the US since 1998. His 21-year-old son who was born in the US, also works at the car wash and witnessed his father being taken away in handcuffs.

The prospect of ICE raids has caused significant fear among immigrant communities. Some public schools in Denver with a large number of students from migrant families have reported a decline in attendance in the past week.

Trump’s Department of Homeland Security recently announced that areas previously considered “sensitive” and off-limits to immigration raids, namely schools, churches, and hospitals, are now fair game for enforcement. “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” said a DHS spokesperson. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”

Trump’s border czar, Thomas Homan, who had previously served a similar role under former president Barack Obama for which he was given the “Presidential Rank Award”, argued in favor of immigration authorities accessing formerly “sensitive” sites for enforcement. “It’s not like we’re walking in and arresting everybody in the building, so the institution shouldn’t be afraid. The criminal alien should be afraid,” Homan said.

Homan has expressed wishes that immigrants would self-deport, or leave the country out of fear of being detained by ICE. “It’d be wiser for people that are in the country illegally to simply go home and come back the right way. Absolutely,” Homan said.

Immigration is not a crime!

As Trump’s administration escalates ICE raids, the movement to defend immigrant communities has grown. In the past few days, mass mobilizations against the draconian immigration measures have sprung up around the country, cities in border states such as California, Arizona, Texas, and cities with large immigrant populations such as Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Seattle, Washington.

HAPPENING NOW: Thousands shut down Downtown Los Angeles for Día Sin Inmigrantes!

Today marks day 2 of massive demonstrations in LA against Trump and ICE. pic.twitter.com/JAisby1uLa

— Party for Socialism and Liberation (@pslnational) February 3, 2025

In Pflugerville, Texas, a rally took place on February 1 outside of a building that is reported to be an unmarked ICE facility. Demonstrators held signs reading “shame on you ICE” and “ICE is not welcome here.” In Los Angeles, California, ten thousand people marched against mass deportations, shutting down freeway traffic.

TODAY: Thousands filled the streets in Dallas, protesting the mass deportations by ICE. pic.twitter.com/9P5STSiGve

— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) February 3, 2025

“We’re out here to show that the people aren’t scared,” said Estevan Hernandez, an organizer in Atlanta with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which helped organize a demonstration of thousands in Dekalb Country, Georgia on Saturday against Trump’s mass deportation policies. “We’re going to stand up, build this movement, and fight back.”