ICE is a government agency that stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not only enforcing immigration laws, but instilling fear into the thousands of immigrants across the country. According to USAFacts, ICE receives around $8 billion in funding from the U.S. Congress through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). With this funding, ICE is able to employ over 20,000 law enforcement officers and hold over 200 facilities, and pay for services from various public contractors, as per the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. These facilities and officers are exist to (allegedly) detain, convict, and deport unauthorized immigrants throughout the country. However, this powerhouse of guns, handcuffs, and tear gas has sent all immigrants into hiding, not just the undocumented.
ICE has what is called “discretionary authority” when considering each unauthorized immigrant. Discretionary authority provides ICE the ability to choose when immigrants are arrested, detained, or released. This allows for bias to have a significant impact on each of these immigrants’ lives. A legal issue becomes a gamble, depending on the empathy and humanity of the officer handling their case. The method of discretionary authority allows for vast flexibility in many areas, providing loopholes for the enforcers. These areas include the initiation of deportation processes, granting deferred action (or other forms of relief), and determining which areas of focus should be prioritized (such as unauthorized immigrants with a criminal record, border crossings, etc). This power can easily be abused by withholding and overextending relief as the officer sees fit.
One choice immigration agents can make is to place the captured immigrants into detention centers. For some, these prison-like buildings become their final destination, as the American Immigration Council has reported at least 23 deaths in 2025, from the first of the year through September 30th. Meanwhile, for others, the detention center becomes a temporary home as they await what is supposed to be further trial. The inconsistencies and uncertainties concerning how long detainees spend in these centers is due, in part, to most families not being notified of their missing relative’s status, and therefore being unable to respond with legal documents and representation. This means, a mother, husband, or brother could wake up one day without their loved one, confused and with no answers.
Unfortunately, the types of families that endure this horror story usually look similar to one another. The majority of detainees come from a range of countries south of the United States. Between October 2014 and November 2024, Mexican citizens accounted for 31.1% of total detainees, Guatemalans held 17.1%, and Hondurans 12.8% (USAFacts).
More recently, as stated by Newsweek, “The states with the highest number of arrests between January 20 and June 26, 2025, were Texas, Florida, and California, which together accounted for more than 41 percent of the total arrests during this period, per the Deportation Data Project.” However, the number of ICE raids and arrests has been increasing across the country, including in and around Chicago.
According to the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), “since the start of September, the Trump administration has escalated unprecedented attacks on Illinois communities, surging increasingly violent…arrest operations and attempting to deploy the National Guard.” This is a direct result of Operation Midway Blitz, launched by the Trump administration on September 8th, 2025. The focus of the operation is to target “criminal illegal aliens” in remembrance of Katie Abraham who was killed in a car crash with a man who resided in the U.S. with no legal status. However, the statistics prove that the operation is not as finely focused as it should be. According to CBS, out of over 600 people detained, only 16 were proven to be a high public safety risk. Yet, these numbers only encourage officials to continue their methods. When a federal judge ordered the release of 614 people from ICE detention centers, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino stated, “We’re going to go even harder on the streets. If he releases those 650, we’re going to apprehend 1,650 on the streets of Chicago” (CBS). Instead of effectively detaining those who are safety risks to our nation, the operation has been creating unnecessary fear and violence. The majority of the unfortunate families impacted by these processes are not criminals, but ordinary people caught in the crossfire of policies that value numbers over humanity.
Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker has repeatedly stated his dislike for ICE and the Trump administration in general. He spoke on the blatant violence carried out by the ICE agents, saying, “They are literally targeting people who are brown and Black, whether you are undocumented or not, and they are tackling people, detaining people for hours, zip-tying people who are U.S. citizens” (ABC7). ICE’s actions have become increasingly more violent, sporadic, and unpredictable, proving that anyone can become a victim.
ICE has now extended its impact to schools. As seen on the Immigration Resources section of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website, CPS is working in collaboration with the Resurrection Project to regularly hold “know your rights” workshops and meetings with the Mayor’s Office of Immigration, Migration, and Refugee Rights. Ever since the start of Operation Midway Blitz, attendance rates have dropped by “1.25 percentage point — more than double the drop in attendance between the first and second month of school the last two years, according to Chalkbeat’s analysis” (Block Club Chicago). Students are staying home in fear of being taken by undercover ICE officers, others are babysitting younger siblings, or taking on extra shifts in place of their undocumented parents. The Trump administration has contradicted its own claim of making the nation safer, instead contributing to an environment where children no longer feel protected enough to practice their right to education, despite race, national origin, or immigration status.
IMSA has allegedly suspended walking trips as a measure of protection for students due to ICE being reported as “in the area.” According to the Illinois Report Card, approximately 76% of the students at IMSA 2025 are not white, 12.5% of them being Hispanic. IMSA repeatedly states in their handbook that they do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on “race, color, religion, age, disability, etc.” (IMSA Handbook – Section J). Seeking to accompany their students and provide them greater security, RCs are now offering more trips for students to meet their needs, concerning groceries, dorm life necessities, and tools to gear for the winter.
As we delve deeper into ICE’s role in society, we find a clear imbalance of effectiveness and unwarranted aggression and hostility. If preventing students from attending school and stopping parents from working to support their families is this nation’s idea of justice and safety, then something is deeply wrong—and it must change. Legal matters, like someone’s citizenship status, should never come in the way of two students requesting a walking trip to Chipotle. It’s time we demand a revamp of ICE’s methods of operation by prompting a question before each detainment or arrest: Is this person a national safety risk or simply a member of the community, trying to live their daily life?
i love this school so much!!