Trump begins mass deportation efforts with military and ICE support

The United States has witnessed a significant shift in immigration enforcement policy under President Donald Trump, who took office on January 20, 2025. In the following days, military troops were deployed to the border, alongside immigration officers empowered to conduct widespread arrests and raids across the country. According to reports, officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency arrested almost double the number of immigrants compared to the previous months, signaling a robust commitment to the President's mass deportation promise. Trump's administration has also authorized various federal agencies, expanding ICE's capacity to seek and remove undocumented immigrants. This new approach raises concerns among communities, particularly among educators, healthcare providers, and local officials who may face repercussions for safeguarding individuals from deportation. Notably, the Department of Homeland Security has sanctioned law enforcement officers from other departments to engage in arrests of undocumented individuals in places traditionally considered sensitive, including schools and hospitals. In Florida, local immigrant populations have been seized by anxiety as new policies and executive orders from the Trump administration echo the aggressive stance on immigration enforcement. Ron DeSantis, the Governor, has mirrored these federal efforts with promises to bolster state immigration enforcement initiatives. The immigrant rights advocates in the state fear that this duo of state and federal action will lead to increasing deportations, propelling a wave of uncertainty in communities with a considerable population of undocumented immigrants. Given the complexity of the immigration issue, many individuals in immigrant communities are taking precautions for their families, should they face deportation. Plans, such as securing passports for U.S.-born children, are indicative of the fear gripping many families. Migration experts warn that heightened enforcement could create a climate of fear that could effectively lead to 'self-deportation,' as individuals may feel compelled to leave the country rather than face the risk of arrest and removal.