Inside Trump’s ICE: What the Second Term Has Unleashed

NORAH O'DONNELL: Immigration. I mean, you campaigned on immigration. You largely won the election on a promise to close the border

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Did great job, don't you think?

NORAH O'DONNELL: and you succeeded on that. Illegal crossings at the Southern border are at a 55-year low. Want to ask you about this. More recently, Americans have been watching videos of ICE tackling a young mother, tear gas being used in a Chicago residential neighborhood, and the smashing of car windows. Have some of these raids gone too far?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No. I think they haven't gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the— by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama. We’ve been held

NORAH O'DONNELL: You’re okay with those tactics?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, because you have to get the people out.

─ excerpted from the actual transcript of Norah O'Donnell’s 60 Minutes interview with Donald Trump, October 31, 2025

What Is ICE?

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency was created March 1st, 2003, as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks. The agency absorbed the prior functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service.

ICE’s two primary and distinct law enforcement components are Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) and Removal Operations (ERO).While HIS focuses on the disruption of transnational crime, ERO is responsible for the apprehension, deportation, and removal of undocumented immigrants.

Trump’s Use of ICE Compared to Previous Administrations

Now that we have the definitions out of the way, let us compare Trump’s use of ICE to previous administrations.

The Trump administration has set a goal of deporting one million people annually, a number that would double the annual peak set by the Obama Administration — which earned Obama the critical nickname of “deporter-in-chief.”

Per a Reuters analysis of data provided by ICE and the White House, the national arrest rate has doubled under the Trump administration in comparison to the last decade. A New York Times analysis of obtained data shows an average arrest rate that has more than doubled in 38 states compared to 2024 rates.

The states reporting the sharpest increases in arrest rates since Trump took office to June 2025 are:

• Texas: up 92%

• Florida: up 219%

• California: up 123%

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How Many People Are Actually Being Deported — and Where?

This is a difficult number to pin down.

Since Trump took office, the Department of Homeland Security has stopped publishing regular immigration enforcement statistics.

According to “border czar” Tom Homan, approximately 200,000 people have been deported between January and May 2025, still far fewer than the 700,000 the Biden Administration deported in fiscal year 2024. It should be noted that the majority of that 700,000 number were people who were turned away at the border — effectively poking holes in Republican claims of Democrats wanting “open borders.”

The Real Issue: Due Process

But it is not really the numbers we should be looking at.

Under the U.S. Constitution, due process rights apply to all "persons" on U.S. soil, not just citizens, but the specific procedural safeguards vary.

Since taking office for his second term, the Trump administration has taken multiple actions that attempt to circumvent the due process owed to any and all persons apprehended by ICE and potentially slated for deportation, including:

• Expanded “expedited removal”

Targeting anyone unable to prove they have been in the U.S. for at least two years — fast-tracking deportations without an immigration court hearing.

• Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act

Used as legal justification for deporting hundreds accused of “gang affiliation,” including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported despite a court order prohibiting his removal.

• Use of third-country agreements

Bilateral “safe third country” pacts that allow the U.S. to send asylum seekers to countries other than their country of origin, even where they may face persecution.

Is ICE Targeting “The Worst of the Worst”?

The statistics do not back up Trump’s claims.

Of undocumented individuals arrested by ICE in fiscal year 2025 (starting October 2024):

• Only 6.9% had a conviction for a violent crime.

• Over 93% had no violent convictions.

• 65% had no criminal convictions at all.

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Escalation of ICE Tactics

In order to achieve the 3,000 daily arrest quotas demanded by Stephen Miller, ICE agents have resorted to staking out locations that have traditionally offered “safe harbor”:

• Courts

• Hospitals

• Worksites

• Schools
  

Fear and intimidation are their weapons of choice — often using children against parents, grabbing those attempting to become citizens “the right way,” lying to force entry into homes, hiding their agency identity, using tear gas, and brandishing weapons at bystanders recording the encounters.

ICE tactics have been called “Gestapo like” in nature… and they are.

Training Problems Inside ICE

While ICE states that all law enforcement officers undergo extensive training, problems have been noted, including:

• Recruits failing physical and academic standards

• Some placed in training programs without complete background checks

• Some without proper drug checks

  
  

This is a powder keg on an ever-shortening fuse.

Recent reporting suggests that accelerated hiring and high failure rates are producing poorly trained agents. Incidents across Chicago, Maryland, and New York document the violence ICE agents are comfortable employing — even against people who are not targets.

A ProPublica investigation (October 2025) found:

• 170+ U.S. citizens have been held by immigration agents

• Many reported being kicked, dragged, and detained for days

• More than 50 Americans held after questioning their citizenship — almost all Latino

• About 130 Americans, including elected officials, accused of “assaulting” officers — cases that often collapsed under scrutiny

  
  

This points to a larger escalation the Trump Administration appears eager to employ:using ICE to arrest and detain U.S. citizens labeled as “dangerous” or “terrorists.”

A Warning: Authoritarian Tactics in Plain Sight

The Trump Administration is clearly testing tactics that allow it to go after:

• Critics

• Protesters

• Satirists (see Jimmy Kimmel)

• Anyone the administration decides it does not like

  
  

In the nearly 11 months of the second Trump Administration, we have seen many of the classic authoritarian-playbook tactics:

• Promotion of a cult of personality

• Seeking federal control over the economy and social life

• Claiming elections are fraudulent when undesired

• Manufacturing national security crises to justify rights violations

• Using military force in American cities to “suppress” violence that does not exist

  
  

The Responsibility Falls on Us

As Americans, we have not just the right —we have the responsibility — to:

• Speak out against this erosion of our way of life

• Protect those who cannot protect themselves

• Remain vigilant against those who would burn it all down for their own gain

  
  

Contributed by Sean Thompson, a dedicated member of the Democratic Club of Greater Tracy.