Photo by Rebecca Santana from the Associated Press
As of 2026, the city of New Orleans hosts nearly 400,000 people. 400,000 individuals driving to work, buying flowers, running to school, and singing with friends. Across the city, sunlight spills onto the streets, children’s laughter echoes along the sidewalks, and the scent of magnolia blossoms drifts between the buildings. Within this vibrant city, 400,000 people go about their lives with freedom and possibility.
If one of those 400,000 people decided to drive four hours upstate, they would find themselves at Winn Correctional Center.
Inside, fluorescent lights sting the eyes as they illuminate camera lined corridors. Cell doors slam shut, electronic locks click into place, and the scrape of metal echoes through halls where nearly every surface is cold steel. There are people here too, and countless more in facilities just like this across the country. Within the last two years, 400,000 people have been detained by ICE in places like Winn as their lives unfold in stark contrast to those of the people walking the streets of New Orleans.
But what is ICE exactly? Or, at least, what was it supposed to be?
If you ask most young people that question, their knowledge of ICE might be limited to its activities from this administration alone. And, after opening that can of worms, you’ll likely find that you’re receiving two very different interpretations of what ICE is.
At its core, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for controlling border control, customs, and immigration within the United States. Contrary to the belief of many young people, who only recently got involved in politics, ICE isn’t anything new or specific to the second Trump administration.
“Since 2003, … ICE … has been responsible for enforcing federal laws governing customs, trade, and immigration.” USA Facts clarifies. In response to the September 11 attacks, the American government decided that the Department of Homeland Security needed to be reorganized. From the shifting, ICE was created to strengthen protection. “ICE’s mission is to preserve American security and public safety, mainly within US borders, by enforcing immigration laws” USA Facts continues.
ICE has existed since the Bush administration, carrying out deportations and guarding American borders for over two decades. Yet, a large portion of Americans think ICE is restricted to, or at least representative of, this current administration. Why is that the case?
Well, part of their confusion can be attributed to President Trump’s agenda with immigration enforcement. Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, the number of people detained by ICE agents has increased astronomically. This is anything but a coincidence. “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history,” Trump promised in a 2024 campaign speech at an
Atlanta rally. “We’re gonna get these criminals out.”
Trump wasn’t kidding when he delivered his campaign promise. Since taking office, detention rates by ICE have surged by about 84%. “The unprecedented growth of ICE detention … has been fueled by a staggering $45 billion in funding,’” Reichlin-Melnick from the American Immigration Council reveals. “ICE detention system has grown larger, more abusive, and more opaque than ever as the Trump administration rushes to detain ever-greater numbers of immigrants as part of its mass deportation push.”
Not only has the number of ICE detentions escalated, the sentiments surrounding them have never been more polarized. According to a poll by ABC News, 58% of Americans disapprove of ICE while 40% approve. Though the percent of approval for ICE has steadily dropped as they carry out controversial activities, it still represents a sizable portion of the country.
But why is anything about ICE controversial at all? Getting violent criminals, who aren’t even here legally, out of the US should only help our country, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the whole story.
“Immigrants with no criminal record are now the largest group in US immigration detention,” data released by the government discloses. This data contradicts the narrative the administration has been pushing about defending the homeland from dangerous criminals. If there’s an attack on the US by huge swarms of violent, undocumented immigrants, then why are we wasting time and resources arresting gardeners, store clerks, and school children? In response, supporters of ICE will point out that these people are still here illegally. Regardless of whether or not they are violent offenders, they broke the law to be here. In all fairness though, the administration isn’t exactly giving these people much of a choice.
“Trump has taken action to all but seal the southern border to immigrants, including those attempting to use their international right to request asylum.” Olivares from The Guardian laments. This move, to block immigrants seeking asylum, makes it extremely difficult for them to get into the US legally. If you’ve decided that you must leave your home country and everything you’ve known behind for the safety of your family, you’ll do what it takes to see it through. Even if it means breaking the law. What the administration has effectively done is create a criminal population, which didn’t need to exist, to arrest in their homes, work places, and public areas.
This inconsistency in the portrayal of ICE as valiant officers saving our country from evil as they round up people at Home Depot has certainly affected the way Americans view the way we handle immigration in the US. Young people especially are questioning the effectiveness of ICE in terms of public safety. According to a poll released by the Harvard Political Review, only 18% of youths believe that ICE actually makes communities safer. This relatively low number speaks to the significant impact social media has had on this particular group.
Videos of ICE raids have made the rounds across social media platforms, spreading news in the form of disorienting and unedited footage of what is truly happening. Besides ICE raids, the broadcasting of the murders of US citizens, like Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Ray Ruben Martinez, at the hands of individual ICE officers has only increased public sentiment that ICE isn’t protecting Americans. More and more, ICE’s agenda appears to be hurting immigrants rather than helping citizens.
At the end of the day, ICE is a necessary part of American security as it has been in past administrations. However, the methods the current administration is using to control immigration through ICE can no longer, in good conscience, be called a net positive. It’s become evident that the government no longer shares the same priorities the American public had been led to believe.
The question is no longer if the system is broken, it’s if we’re willing to fix it before more people pay the price. The way the American immigration system works is flawed on a fundamental level and deep, deliberate change is required. If the problem is that there are too many undocumented immigrants in the country, we need to provide a realistic legal pathway. If the problem is that American streets are run rampant with violent criminals, we need to prioritize stopping those people rather than raiding neighborhoods. And, if you’re sitting there waiting for the administration to take these actions, you can expect very little to change. Until we insist on policies that are both effective and fair, the cycle of fear, division, and blame will continue.
Because, a nation isn’t judged on how it protects its borders, but by how it chooses to protect its people.
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