Protest Against ICE Raids The Xavierite
Since President Donald Trump has taken office on Jan. 20, he has pushed executive immigration orders resulting in the start of a mass deportation. Through his support of an expedited removal, I cannot sit comfortably watching the numerous inhumane and unjust problems unfold.
During the time of Trump’s election I had been aware of the immigration policies he wanted to impose through Project 2025, which can be found online. It mentioned enabling expedited raids everywhere in the U.S, militarizing the border, and expanding detention centers.
These actions would not only magnify the deportation numbers, but raise my concern with how many of those immigrants are being wrongfully detained, questioned, and treated without respect. There should be precautions put in place to protect the citizens who came here legally, who have work visas or are in the process of becoming legally documented.
In the previous days, there have been reports made by people who have been detained unreasonably. These detainees have shown proof of their documentation or have just been detained based on suspicion. In Milwaukee, a Puerto Rican mother and her three-year-old son were detained by Immigration and Custom Enforcement Officials. This was after they were overheard speaking Spanish in the store.
Not only is it unfair to these citizens to be wrongfully detained, it is unclear as to why ICE is being allowed to take people into question, based on their judgment or potential prejudice. Additionally, these ICE officials were directed by Trump Officials to increase arrests. Currently, there is a quota of 75 arrests per day.
This puts so much power into the hands of ICE belittling immigrants, U.S citizens, and those that “look” undocumented. What’s worse is that this is all for the sake of reaching a quota, so they won’t face any repercussions of not meeting it. If the quota ends up increasing, who knows how far ICE will go to detain people.
A huge issue being overlooked is that the target of deportation does not only limit to adults. Children are being put into the mix as well. With the detaining situation in Milwaukee, that little boy must have experienced a load of confusion and fear. This won’t be a one time occurrence, it will happen again. It will cause long term trauma and become an unhealthy stressor with children in upcoming days.
The 2025 Project plan aimed to send ICE into churches and schools, which used to be a safe place. A place of sanctuary and peace. It shouldn’t be targeted by people that bring fear and violence. A school is a place to learn and no child should be held back from going because they are scared.
Many people that I know of are either telling their children to stay home or have kids that are scared to go to school in fear that they will be taken away or ripped from their families. They shouldn’t have to have their education put at risk and miss days of learning.
If unjust ICE raids continue, fear will rise within any immigrant. It takes away any secureness they had about living in the U.S because they will always feel subject to being deported and ostracized. I have seen nasty comments made about the deportation updates, many people being unsympathetic and feeding into stereotypes.
Even if Trump states that his goal is to remove illegal criminals and immigrants, it desensitizes people to the idea and problematic process of mass deportation. People become quick to make the judgment that every immigrant is a criminal that has committed heinous crimes.
Stereotypes will increase among certain groups that “look” of Hispanic descent or that are Spanish speaking. I believe that we will soon see an increase in acts of racism and hate crimes among these communities. It is too easy for them to be singled out when the words of rapists and murders are in constant association with them.
In the most recent plans made by Trump, he seeks to send thirty-thousand “criminal illegal aliens” to Guantanamo Bay to be held and detained. This place has been known to detain terrorism suspects, such as the ones after the 9/11 attack. There isn’t a known status to this facility’s state and if it can even properly house that many detainees.
With the upsetting events happening during this week’s raids, it makes me doubt that this plan will run smoothly and as humane as possible. There is no guarantee that all immigrants sent there will be criminals, so I worry for the innocent people that can end up there.
Each day I wake up to heartbreaking developments in the news about the immigration raids. Seeing continuous stories about false accusations and harmful raids does not give me any hope about the status of safety for any immigrant. I cannot fathom what’s to come if it has only been a week into Trump’s presidency. Not all immigrants are criminals, they should not be singled out or abused.