By Miriam John and Harper Thompson / News Reporters
Within the past few months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been pushed to the forefront of political discussion after President Trump’s crackdown on immigration enforcement and deportation.
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, was founded as a part of the 2003 Homeland Security Act, passed in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The agency, controversial from its inception, was given authority by Congress to deport undocumented immigrants and investigate criminal activity in order to improve national security and public safety.
The agency now has over 20,000 members in more than 400 offices across the country, operates on a budget of $8 billion and is divided into three branches: Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor. The majority of controversy surrounding ICE is centered on Enforcement and Removal Operations, which is in charge of identification, arrests and detention.
As ICE activity has increased, so has the discontent surrounding it. A February 2026 poll found that 65% of Americans disapprove of the ICE crackdowns, up from 54% in June 2025 when they began in Los Angeles. The disapproval comes mostly from non-Republicans, with 91% of Democrats and 66% of Independents indicating that they are unhappy with the work ICE is doing. Some even say they feel “less safe” as a result of their actions, according to PBS. Republicans still show strong approval for ICE, with 73% indicating support.
Disapproval increased with the circulation of videos and images of arrests by ICE officers and increased more acutely after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January 2026. Once the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Metro Surge on Dec. 1, 2025, the number of ICE agents in Minnesota increased. DHS claims to be targeting the “worst criminal illegal aliens,” with President Trump calling the Somalian immigrant population in Minnesota “garbage,” according to CBC. Trump reiterated this claim during his State of the Union address, calling Somali immigrants “pirates” who have “ransacked Minnesota.”
ICE carried out many raids over the course of December. As time progressed, the situation escalated, coming to a head when an agent killed Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen, on Jan. 7, 2026.
Good was in her car during her encounter with the ICE agent, and there are disputes regarding whether or not Good’s actions leading up to her death were threatening or if she was just trying to remove herself from the situation. Videos of the event show an ICE agent and Becca Wood, Renee Good’s wife, engaged in a verbal altercation before Good was killed.
Originally, there were claims that Good was weaponizing her vehicle. However, videos of the incident clearly show her steering her vehicle away from the officer. It is unclear whether this was obvious to the officer or if he truly believed he was in danger.
During the protests following Good’s death, Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse and U.S. citizen, was killed by a federal agent. The Department of Homeland Security said agents were attempting to take away Pretti’s handgun when he resisted and was fatally shot, while other eyewitness accounts claim he was holding his phone, not a gun. Videos of the shooting also show that he was not holding a gun at the time of his death.
Another incident which has garnered a significant amount of attention is the detainment of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father, Adrian Arias. ICE brought them into federal custody on Jan. 20 and took them both to a family detention center in Texas, more than 1,000 miles from their home in Minneapolis.
The Trump administration’s policies regarding immigration enforcement have now begun to affect children who, in this case, have been following the legal pathway for asylum, according to their attorney. The Department of Homeland Security disputes this claim, calling Arias an “illegal alien” targeted by ICE’s operations. Arias has not been convicted of any crimes in the U.S. or in Ecuador, his home country.
Although the original goal of the Trump administration was to find “violent criminals” in their sweeps, many other immigrants have been picked up without falling into that category. According to data published by ICE, 42% of current detainees are neither convicted criminals nor face any pending charges.
Despite the widespread protests, the majority of Republicans in America remain staunch supporters of ICE. Immigration has been a focus of the Trump administration since 2016, and Trump’s claims that ICE is targeting violent criminals who have entered the country illegally resonate strongly with the right side of the political spectrum.
77% of Republicans believe that the country is safer due to Trump’s deportations after the increase in undocumented immigrants under President Biden’s administration. The number of undocumented immigrants living in the country grew sharply starting in 2020, peaking at around 14 million in 2023. The ICE crackdowns have reversed this trend, with a reported 600,000 deportations and an estimated 2 million self-deportations in 2025, according to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
ICE protests have not gone unheard. Senior Hanna Jung spent her Winterim interning in Washington D.C with Steve Scalise, the House Majority Leader. Part of her job was fielding calls from Scalise’s constituents, and she received many calls regarding ICE.
She said, “A lot of people were just shocked about the violence. A lot of people were really mad.”
She even heard from some constituents who identify as Republican but are frustrated with Trump’s immigration policies.
She said, “People were saying they were old-school Republicans, and the MAGA party has shifted so much away that it no longer represents what it’s supposed to represent. That’s why they are calling, as Republicans, to oppose what is going on.”
In response to this pushback, the government has made changes to certain aspects of its methodology and leadership. Following Alex Pretti’s death, the Trump administration replaced former Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino with Tom Homan. Homan immediately recalled 700 ICE agents from Minneapolis and left around 2,000 in the city. Homan also announced a shift away from deploying agents onto the streets in favor of taking undocumented immigrants into ICE custody directly from local jails.
This marks a turning point away from the Minnesota crackdown. As of Feb. 26, 2026, there are fewer than 1,000 ICE agents in Minnesota.
However, the end of the Minnesota crackdown does not mean the end of the tightened policies on immigration. In January 2026, Tennessee State Representative Cameron Sexton announced that Tennessee will pilot a new immigration program, which will require local law enforcement to work with ICE agents. Additionally, a bill may return this year that requires schools to verify immigration status, ending the right to K-12 education for all in Tennessee. Lisa Sherman Luna with Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said, “We need educators focusing on lesson plans of the week, not on becoming ICE agents.”
