ICE Raids and the Realities of Undocumented Immigrants
By Daniela Garcia Perez
Caption: President Donald Trump’s policies are harming the undocumented immigrant community that built the U.S.A, damaging the rest of the country along the way.
“Thank you young people for screaming. That which, your parents and I stay silent out of fear.”
Prior to President Donald Trump’s second term, immigration and undocumented immigrants were a signature aspect of his negative and discriminative presidential run in 2016. Donald Trump said in a speech in October of 2016 that he would fully fund the construction of a wall on the southern border of the United States.
Now in 2025, during his first 100 days, President Donald Trump has implemented executive orders in relation to immigration. “Securing Our Borders” and “Declaring a National Emergency At the Southern Border of the United States,” are two executive orders passed on January 20, which would allow for armed forces and physical barriers to be used at the southern border.
Beyond executive orders, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have conducted an increasing number of raids around the country. A number of these raids have occurred in sanctuary cities, which are places that limit working with federal immigration authorities. ICE’s 25 field offices were even told that there would be a quota of 1,200-1,500 arrests per day.
Major cities that ICE raids happened to were New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, Miami, Denver, Newark, San Francisco, and Dallas.
Trump’s policies and remarks have been consistently using the words “illegal aliens” to dehumanize undocumented immigrants. Prior to his second presidential run, he called immigrants “bloody thirsty criminals” and the “most violent people on Earth.” Donald Trump has continued to call out Mexico for “not sending the best” people to the United States. These actions have led President Donald Trump to profile all Latinos and immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean.
It is not just cities that are being raided. Due to new immigration laws, migrants could possibly be arrested in sanctuaries, such as schools and churches. Immigration raids have occurred in apartment complexes in areas such as Denver, Colorado, which has led to students to stay home from school.
Rather than children being worried about drama in the playground or their school art project, they are worried about deportation and being separated from their parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, neighbors, and pets. These actions are forcing children as young as five to be hyper-aware of status and responsibility.
“Do not open the door if ICE is outside. Do not draw attention from the inside of the car to avoid being pulled over by the police. Do not tell ICE anything.”
For many children of my home town in New Jersey, the phrases from above were taught at an early age. The words citizenship, la migra (ICE), and papeles (documentation) were said by elementary school children.
My hometown in New Jersey is a sanctuary city. Although my town is predominantly White and upper middle-class, my specific neighborhood was dominated by working-class Hispanic immigrants. Children in elementary school would make jokes about having papeles, and parents would joke about it with their children too.
I frequently heard my neighbors bring up God and how he would protect their families from any danger. In the summer of 2024 when I was away from home, ICE visited my hometown in New Jersey. I didn’t believe it when I saw a post on Instagram, but I went to my local newspaper’s website.The first article I saw was “ICE conducts raids in [town].”
I saw a video of ICE agents trying to stop my neighbors. If it weren’t for the man recording the video that bravely yelled “no le digan nada” (don’t tell them anything) and “vayase” (go) to the people stopped by ICE, who knows what could have happened.
The neighbors I saw in the video were the same ones I saw around town. I always heard my neighbors speaking Spanish as they waited at the public bus spots. At the laundromats, I saw them there too, conversing with each other. Walking around town, I saw them riding their bikes everywhere. I saw them inside the stores working, shopping, or chatting. Around certain streets, I always heard them playing Spanish music to celebrate someone’s birthday.
At the bus stops, I could always overhear their conversations. My neighbors talked about work, their children, sports, and daily topics of life. I understood their conversations as a child, and now being an adult, their conversations have become more difficult to overhear.
On multiple occasions, I heard adults discussing their loved ones back in Latin America. I heard one of my neighbors talk about her grandmother, who she hasn’t been able to see for 20+ years since immigrating to America. She spoke of calling her and how her grandmother told her, “Mija, te queiro mirar otra vez,” (Daughter, I want to see you again). My neighbor never got the chance to see her grandmother’s funeral.
I once overheard a father speak of his own father, who had been sick for a few months. His father’s last days were seen by call on “Whatsapp”. When his father died, all he got was a photo of an open casket and a livestream on Facebook. His grandchildren never got the opportunity to see him. His grandchildren never saw him at their graduations for elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college.
To be an immigrant means to sacrifice. Millions of people come to the United States of America on trains and boats, walking through deserts and rivers in search of a better life. To my neighbors, vale la pena (it’s worth it). My neighbors came to this country with no money speaking a different language, and look who they have become.
In 2024, immigrants or their children created 46% of all Fortune 500 companies. The immigrants who came from the Mexican Farm Labor Program in the 1900s aided the United States agriculture and economy. Many of these immigrants had children who grew to become someone in a society against them. The cultures of Latinos, and of all immigrants, are seen in every state of this country. This country was built by immigrants, including those that were forcibly brought here for labor.
The executive orders are not solely a risk to all immigrants, it is a risk to all Americans. President Donald Trump has even attempted to end birthright citizenship. Soon after targeting immigrants, he will move onto limiting rights for all people of color in this country, he will move onto limiting rights for women, he will move onto limiting rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, and he will move onto endangering students. It has already begun.
The increasing dehumanization of undocumented immigrants, since the election of Donald Trump, has led entire masses of people to believe that Donald Trump is doing a good job for this country with the deportation and erasure of immigrants. Donald Trump has talked about how his administration will aid the increasing inflation in the United States. Will the deportation of undocumented immigrants, who make up 19% of maintenance workers, lower the price of groceries? Will the deportation of undocumented immigrants, who make up 17% of the United States construction workers, lower the price of homes?
The influence of immigrants on foods, neighborhoods, fashion, and language surround all of us. No matter what Donald Trump and his administration tries to do, the influence of immigrants will not be undone. This nation was built by immigrants.