Early in President Donald Trump’s term, there have been major increases in United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and arrests. ICE is in charge of locating and apprehending illegal immigrants. This includes, but is not limited to, the detention and deportation of these immigrants. In June, there were 59,000 immigrants being held in custody by ICE, and from February through May, around 20,000 immigrants were being detained monthly. This was three times the amount in 2024.
Many of these arrests happen in locations such as workplaces, homes, and schools. Previously, there had been a policy in place to restrict raids in many of these places, but the Trump administration has since appealed the aforementioned policy. During raids, officers may show up in clothing that disguises the fact they are ICE officers, some even wearing face coverings to hide their identity.
Politicians believe that this is the right thing to do for the good of America. Assistant Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, speaking in a statement to CBS News said, “What makes someone a target of ICE is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity. America’s brave men and women are removing murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, rapists—truly the worst of the worst from Golden State communities. 70 [percent] of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens who have been convicted or have pending charges. President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem are putting the American people first by removing illegal aliens who pose a threat to our communities. Law and order will prevail,” McLaughlin said.
Lots of citizens, on the other hand, believe that the major ICE raids are hurting the U.S., and it has sparked protests throughout the nation. Multiple of the main protests have been located in the Los Angeles area, where many people of different races and ethnicities reside, making it an area widely affected by the raids.
Citizens have gone to lengths attempting to stop raids. In one incident on June 6, ICE agents were loading two cars with people in handcuffs. During this, protesters were trying to stop the cars, including someone laying in the path of the car to prevent movement. Later on that day, protesters gathered, vandalizing the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown LA, while also heckling police who responded with batons and tear gas launchers.
Two days later on June 8, protests continued at the Roybal Building. In an effort to stop these protests, Trump deployed a total of 2,000 members of the National Guard to control the situation. Despite this, protesters moved onto the 101 freeway to continue their protest. Participants in the protests threw objects at the officers trying to stop them, and even went as far as launching fireworks at officers.
The deployment of the National Guard caused unrest within the government as well. A joint statement between 22 Democratic governors criticized President Trump’s use of the National Guard, saying “President Trump’s move to deploy California’s National Guard is an alarming abuse of power. Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous,” Trump said.
On June 9, after continuous efforts to stop the protest, the Los Angeles Police Department took further action and declared the protests in downtown LA. an “unlawful act of assembly” and moved to arrest demonstrators.
Protests and ICE raids are still occurring throughout the country, and many families have been affected by these events. Though Fenton itself has not been largely affected, many families with relatives in other areas have reason to worry about their loved ones being arrested or deported.
There is no telling how long these raids will continue, but steps are being taken by different governments like the “Stop ICE from Kidnapping U.S. Citizens Act,”introduced on July 16, which aimed to limit the funding to ICE when it came to attempts to deport U.S. citizens. It has not been enacted yet, but there are hopes that legislation like this will help protect people of different ethnicities from being harmed and deported.
