The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) isn’t protecting anyone—it’s terrorizing communities, and it’s time it gets abolished.
Since the start of his presidency—and even during his campaign—Donald Trump promised mass deportations, targeting more than 10 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. His administration has followed through with 11,000 people deported in February, over 12,000 in the first four weeks of March, and approximately 17,200 in April, according to NBC News.
According to its website, ICE was established in 2003 through the merger of the investigative and interior enforcement functions of the former U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. ICE currently operates in 400 offices across the United States and internationally, with an annual budget of approximately eight billion dollars. Nearly 60,000 migrants are currently being held in ICE detention centers, with 11.4 per cent fast-tracked for deportation, according to NBC’s live tracker.
What the live media coverage makes evident is that the administration continues to view immigrants and migrants as statistics rather than people: a true testament to the tragedy that is the United States. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, stated that ICE officers would aim to carry out at least 3,000 arrests per day, an increase from the approximately 650 daily arrests during the first five months of Trump’s second term. ICE operations have triggered protests across the U.S., often resulting in arrests and the imposition of curfews.
Just days ago, it was reported that Canadian citizen Johnny Noviello died while in ICE custody. According to The Globe and Mail, the cause of death remains under investigation. ICE stated that Noviello was being detained pending deportation proceedings, despite having entered the United States legally and becoming a lawful permanent resident in 1991.
In October 2023, Noviello was convicted in eastern Florida on charges of racketeering and drug trafficking and was sentenced to 12 months in prison. In May, he was arrested by ICE at a probation office and charged before the Trump administration for violating U.S. drug laws.
Unfortunately, Noviello isn’t the first and likely won’t be the last person lost to ICE’s inhumane treatment of detainees. CTV News reports that there are currently 55 Canadian citizens being held by ICE.
What’s more, a 2024 report has documented inhumane conditions within ICE detention centers. It found that 60 per cent of people in ICE custody are held under “mandatory detention,” meaning they’re denied the right to a bond hearing—a basic aspect of due process. Since March 2023, there has also been a 50 per cent increase in ICE’s use of solitary confinement, often targeting individuals deemed “at risk,” members of “vulnerable and special populations.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a citizen, a permanent resident—if you have ever been labelled an immigrant— under these systems, your rights can and will be denied.
Abolishing ICE isn’t a radical demand—it’s a necessary step toward building an immigration system rooted in dignity, compassion, and justice. We need to reimagine public safety, one that does not rely on incarceration and deportation but instead invests in services that support all communities.
I’m a first-generation immigrant. My family fled instability. I know that those labelled “aliens” or “illegal” are human beings like me, many escaping hardships in search of a better life. Yet instead of offering support to families fleeing homes that lack safety, the U.S. government intentionally spends over $3 billion a year on immigration detention and deportation, according to the National Immigrant Justice Centre.
As humans, we owe it to every family living in fear, every child wondering if their parent will come home, and every person whose humanity has been reduced to a case number. ICE isn’t just broken—it was built this way. And it must be dismantled.
Meghrig is a fourth-year Philosophy student and The Journal’s Editor in Chief.
Tags
immigration, mass deportation, Signed Editorial, United States
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