In a nation that prides itself on being the “land of the free,” the Trump administration’s mass detention and deportation of undocumented individuals reveals how freedom wavers at a human’s legal status. As United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) ramps up deportations under President Trump’s second term, migrant detention facilities nationwide now hold more than 60,000 individuals, with nearly 200,000 deported to date– marking a sharp increase in immigration enforcement activity. Shortly after President Trump’s return to the White House, on January 20, 2025, Trump signed numerous executive actions, establishing newfound rules and policies regarding undocumented immigrants. Key immigration-related executive actions and legislation intensify debates over the legal, ethical, and humanitarian aspects of undocumented individual removal. As Trump’s measures take effect, they continue to shape the national discourse on how the United States handles illegal immigration and deportation.
ICE, a federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ), primarily focuses on “Securing our nation’s borders and safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system…” promoting the enforcement of immigration laws, handling detention and deportation, border control, and transnational crime. From President Trump’s first term to now, ICE continues to initiate actions such as immigration enforcement executive orders, raids, military border deployments, ICE expansions, sweeping arrests, immigration detention, and deportations. Through these measures, the dismantling of sanctuary cities and the trauma of family separations leave not only undocumented immigrants, but also American citizens with immigrant relatives or friends shaken and fearful.
ICE raids become more and more of a defining tactic in the enforcement of United States’ immigration law, employing harsh and arguably inhumane tactics such as invading homes, disrupting workplaces, and terrorizing public spaces in order to detain undocumented individuals. Operation Safeguard, a federal immigration enforcement initiative and recent example of an ICE raid, aims to rapidly detain and deport undocumented migrants residing in the United States, especially in sanctuary cities. Launched in early 2025, major sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, and Washington D.C., were targeted in attempt to detain undocumented immigrants residing in those areas.According to VisaVerge, “This operation, named ‘Operation Safeguard,’ will target undocumented immigrants, particularly those with criminal records. However, according to reports, the operation could also lead to ‘collateral arrests,’ which means others without criminal backgrounds may also be detained if encountered during enforcement activities.” ICE hides behind the name “Operation Safeguard” to justify an agenda that goes far beyond targeting criminals, but also instilling fear into the immigrants of the United States, fostering a country of fear and uncertainty for the undocumented.
Despite widespread political debate over illegal immigration, data reflects a more layered story, revealing how the mass deportation of immigrants correlates with the loss of key workers in labor-intensive, essential, and often underfilled blue-collar jobs industries. According to the Pew Research Center, immigrants make up 15.4% of the United States population, totaling around 47.8 million people, making their presence in the labor work force impactful. Additionally, USAFacts reports that immigrants make up over 19% of the United States workforce, reflecting a stronger labor force participation among foreign-born individuals compared to native-born workers. Supporting this, the Society for Human Resource Management ( SHRM ) shares that “Foreign-born workers have a higher labor force participation rate ( 66.8% ) than native-born workers ( 61.7% ).” and that “These workers dominate key industries, making up over 25% of workers in construction, cleaning, farming, and tech, and at least 20% in seven other industries, such as transportation, agriculture, and goods manufacturing.” Despite these resounding numbers, the Trump administration continues to push mass deportation policies that threaten to weaken entire industries, especially blue-collar jobs, that are vital to the American economy. With blue-collar jobs already suffering from unfilled positions and labor shortages, deporting immigrants would gut these sectors, leaving the hollow institutions even harder to fill the essential roles it demands. By removing the very workers who devote their livelihoods to working through vigorous labor jobs, such as construction, agriculture, caregiving, and more, the Trump Administration risks promoting an economic fallout within the United States, inevitably resulting in raising consumer prices, destabilizing vital industries, shrinking labor prices, damaging the United States’ productivity, and other critical implications. Because of these effects, the Trump administration’s deporting methods would not only serve as an example of inhumane use of sovereign authority that inflicts trauma onto those affected, but also portrays an economically inefficient decision that damages industries that form the backbone of the United States economy.
Despite the partisan push and pull over immigration policy, the topic of illegal immigration and immigrant deportation intertwines with both economic and ethical struggles, driving progression and change in American politics. Regardless of what stance people of society may take on this pressing topic, it does not discount the trauma and irrevocable emotional damage inflicted on the immigrants and family of immigrants in America. As ICE continues to play a central role in immigration enforcement, the debate over deportation remains deeply impactful, forcing society to reflect on what is more important at the end of the day: upholding the law or respecting individual human rights.
