By: Katherine Soto. One of President Trump’s biggest selling points of his campaign was his stance on immigration. Repeatedly, he promised the American people that he would “crack down” on the illegal immigrant crisis, and rallied support from citizens fearful that our country was under attack.
In New York City, there was an increase in support for Trump in the 2024 election compared to 2020. After the election however, New Yorkers have reportedly been “on edge” in fear of the possibility of an ICE agent showing up at their doorstep.
Countless rumors and speculations have been spread on this topic, mostly through social media outlets like TikTok and Instagram which has in turn driven more fear into people’s hearts. On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued that migrants can now be detained at schools and churches, as stated in an article from PBS.
This goes against the previous rule that ICE agents could not enter “sensitive” areas and effectively removed asylum for undocumented immigrants. Immigrant parents have reportedly prevented their children from going to school, claiming that it’s a direct result of the fear that an ICE agent will be there.
The same sentiment is shared by older children and young adults as well. Keyla P., a sophomore at QCC said, “I think in some ways I was [afraid of walking to school] because the thought of seeing other people dealing with ICE or even watching kids that maybe don’t have documents deal with it is really scary. It’s really something I don’t wish upon anyone especially my family.”
On social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, people have chosen to alert the public of ICE sightings in their area. Specifically in NYC, multiple protests have been organized online in defense of people getting detained. Two notable protests were held in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and outside John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
The protest held in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, was a result of an ICE truck sighting in the neighborhood just a week before. The neighborhood, being majority Hispanic, took to the streets with signs directly shaming our government’s behavior.
On the opposite side of the migrant issue, many have agreed with the way the new administration is “tackling the migrant problem.” They hold the belief that everyone should come here legally and not criminally, although “being an undocumented immigrant in the US is a civil offense, not a criminal one” as stated by Liisa Hernandez, an immigration attorney based in Manhattan, NYC.
People who voted for President Trump in the 2024 election have been supporting his new administration’s tactics in detaining illegal immigrants and with the speed in which it’s going. An article in the New York Post reads, “More than 100 people were detained within the first month of Trump’s second term” in NYC.
On his first day in office, Trump kept his promise and signed ten executive orders to change the way immigration policy and law is carried out.
His promise to detain illegal immigrants with criminal records, however, has not been maintained by the ICE agents carrying out his agenda. Since the new policies have been implemented, “less than half of the approximately 8,200 people arrested from Jan. 20 through Feb. 2 so far have criminal convictions”, according to government data obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
People of color, mostly those of Spanish-speaking descent, have been targeted by ICE agents, which accounts for the uneasiness that many Hispanic people stated they have.
“Right now, the current administration is looking for shock and awe,” stated Liisa Hernandez,
“they’re trying to get all the people who are ‘unlawful’ out of here by any means necessary.”
Rumors surrounding the denaturalization of people in the US have been circulating on social media outlets as well. The possibility of one’s rights being taken away regardless of whether they came into this country lawfully or not was an idea that many had a hard time trying to grasp.
A “tension” has been described by an anonymous high school student who felt particularly moved by the issue. “It’s risen in all five boroughs after President Trump’s deportation policies have been rolling out. It’s like one by one everyone is getting more and more afraid. I don’t even know what to believe anymore.”
This same student went on to say that he was living in “fear of his documentation being stripped away” and requested to remain anonymous.
Although the fear of documented immigrants having their citizenship revoked is still abuzz, there is not current policy in place to do so. Those who were detained by ICE agents even though they were documented legally were released from custody upon given proof of legality.
Liisa Hernandez, immigration attorney says this, “They [ICE] don’t always follow the law and the procedures they’re supposed to follow and if you’re undocumented, you should be prepared. The biggest rule that I tell my clients is to never sign anything. Don’t feel obligated or pressured to sign something and always ask for an attorney.”
