In January, 2025, President Donald Trump announced to the public that there would be a major increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to decrease the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. This agency claims their intended mission is to “Protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety,” as stated on their website at ice.gov.
Trump stated that the intention of the agency was to prioritize the removal of individuals who are a danger to the public: criminals, gang members, murderers—his exact description being the “worst of the worst.”
However, the reality is that ICE is not fulfilling its intended mission. Instead, they are abusing their power to harm immigrants and Hispanic Americans, basing their harassment on racial profiling. This includes deporting immigrants with no criminal record; harming and detaining legal Hispanic Americans, including children; and the deaths of multiple citizens. ICE is a harmful agency that should be eliminated as an enforcement system.
For some context, the actual number of criminals being detained by ICE is so low that it factually disputes the claim that they are deporting the “worst of the worst”. There is no argument against this.
According to TRAC Immigration—an organization that collects real-time data on immigration detention—73.6% of immigrants held in ICE detention have no criminal record as of November 30, 2025. While that data was from three months ago, the number of detainees, 65,735, has only increased since then.
The actual reason so many people enter the United States illegally is that the process is very long and expensive. Due to time quotas under the Immigration Act of 1924, the normal time to be approved can range from 5 to 25 years, according to the American Immigration Council. The citizen application fee is $710-$760. That is, if the application is accepted. The money is not refunded if denied, as only 1 million of 34 million green card applicants are accepted annually. Immigrants can apply for citizenship over and over and still not be accepted or be put on a waiting list for years.
Despite the difficulties, Republicans and Democrats will continue to debate whether it is okay to transgress that process. I do not believe that the mass deportation of immigrants, even if they are here illegally, is justice. There are more humane and moral ways to solve this issue, which can be taken upon in court with the hiring of more judges.
It is a fact that our school is predominantly white and that ICE is mainly targeting immigrants. So, naturally, there are students and staff who ignore this issue because it does not affect them.
If there was the threat of death and immoral harm that would affect you and your family, would you care then?
Last month, ICE agents killed two American citizens—Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Two months ago, seven people died in ICE’s custody. According to The Guardian, 2025 has been the deadliest year for those in ICE custody—with 32 people reported dead as of Jan. 4, 2026. The first month into 2026 and ICE is starting to target those outside of custody as well. How many more deaths will be added by March? Two? Thirty?
The conditions that prisoners have to withstand in ICE detention is inhumane and could likely be a reason for the rise in deaths during custody. Current detainees have reported lacking human necessities such as food and proper sleeping conditions. Holding spaces were reported to be filthy, and medical emergencies are ignored until someone collapses. Many detainees acquire sickness. Conditions for each detainee varied, some worse than others.
“Several detained individuals have described violent assaults by officers, including sexual abuse,” said journalist Haddy Gassama from the American Civil Liberties Union.
These conditions are the same ones that five-year-old Liam Ramos had to face for a week after being taken into custody with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, while on his way home from school. Yes, that is correct. A five-year-old boy was taken by ICE on his way home from school. He was targeted by ICE agents because of his appearance.
The Columbia Heights school district in Minnesota where Ramos attends said over the past few weeks, four of their students have been detained by ICE agents.
“He’s a bright young student, and he’s so kind,” said Ramos’ preschool teacher Ella Sullivan.
The most harmful thing a five-year-old can do is throw a tantrum or break something. Yet, they are being given the same treatment expected of alleged criminals?
Both the child and father have since been released, but there will be ongoing trauma that affects each of these families. Trauma for Ramos’ family, who will remember this incident for the rest of their life. Trauma for his classmates who heard of the incident and worried whether their friend would return safely, if at all. And trauma for the educators in the district, who all must prepare for if another one of their children is taken.
The Deportation Data Project showed that at least 3,800 children have been detained by the ICE agency under the second Trump Administration. Over 500 of these individuals were under the age of five, according to TIME.
In October 2025, tenth grader Arnoldo Bazan was put in an illegal chokehold while an ICE agent tackled his father, Arnulfo Bazan Carrillo, and held his knee to his father’s neck. When Bazan tried to tell the agents he was a citizen and a minor, they did not stop, according to ProPublica.
“I started screaming with everything I had, because I couldn’t even breathe,” Arnoldo told ProPublica. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die.”
The boy who had been attacked is 16 years old. He was wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants—similar to what students like you or me wear to school—and his shirt was ripped.
ICE is not only going after criminals. They are targeting fathers and mothers, neighbors, friends, and even children. They are targeting the people you love.
In addition, ICE agents have reportedly entered households without warrants, according to AP News. Many agents, like the ones who had detained Ramos and Bazan, hid their faces behind masks, along with any other signs of being an officer. They hide themselves to avoid identification, break the law, yet they are supposed to be serving justice?
Some may argue that ICE is an enforcement agency meant to deter illegal activity and that entering illegally is still breaking the law, therefore deserving punishment. However, the increase in deaths, the harsh environment in their detention facilities, and their inhumane treatment towards Hispanic Americans proves that ICE’s tactics are not enforcing the law, they are abusing it.
While, yes, entering the United States illegally is a crime, the mass deportation strategies that ICE has enforced have shown more harm than good. I would argue that tearing families apart and taking away the lives of individuals because of their mistake is worse than improper entry.
In 2014, President Barack Obama stated, “Tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise isn’t being straight with you. It’s also not who we are as Americans … Scripture tells us we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger. We were strangers once too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants.”
The ICE agency is not here to protect you. They are here to abuse power and instill fear in America. They target immigrants, Hispanic Americans, and anyone who is willing to fight for the rights of these groups. They are not righteous, nor do they serve justice for our country. The program needs to be eliminated and replaced with a program that actually cares about the lives of immigrants and Hispanic Americans—they must create an agency that focuses on deporting actual criminals instead of workers and family members, one that does not take lives and abuse powers. We are the United States of America, we are meant to be united.
Click on the gallery below to see student and staff opinions on ICE. Survey answered by 140 Highlanders.
