ICE crackdowns across US enter new phase, with record-high reports of deaths, abuse

As the one-year mark of Donald Trump’s second presidential term approaches, his longtime promise of cracking down on immigrants is seeing the results that many of his critics have feared.

In the last several weeks, there have been multiple reports of detained immigrants dying or being abused in custody, arrests of US citizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and instances of ICE raiding areas generally considered private venues, such as bathrooms.

This has been the deadliest year for those in ICE custody, with 32 deaths reported by the agency so far this year, including seven in December, four of which occurred in the span of four days.

Some of these deaths are under investigation, and while it remains unclear if all are directly a result of ICE detention, there have been multiple reports of mistreatment in the facilities.  

A probe by Georgia Senator Job Ossoff’s office released in late July cited instances of widespread abuse of detainees in ICE custody.

This includes allegations of sexual abuse and mistreatment of children (in some cases as young as two), mistreatment of pregnant women with some allegedly facing miscarriages as a result, inadequate food and medical care, overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions, inadequate food or water, exposure to extreme temperatures, denial of access to attorneys, and family separations.

The senator’s office, which described the investigation as ongoing, said in its report that they had found 510 credible reports of human rights abuse against immigrants since 20 January, when Trump was inaugurated for his second term.

As well as the detention of immigrants, there are increasing reports and remarks from US law enforcment officers stating ICE detains US citizens too, sometimes based on their physical appearance, language, or accent.

In some cases, their arrest appears to be linked to their politics.

According to an October report by the ProPublica non-profit news outlet, in the first nine months of Trump’s second term, more than 170 US citizens – including around a dozen elected officials – have been arrested, some of them allegedly dragged, beaten and shot.

In addition to ICE agents arresting people largely based on their appearance, there have also been reported instances of white allies being apprehended by ICE.

Earlier this month, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota posted on social media a report of a woman, appearing to be middle aged and white, who was arrested while part of a group peacefully observing ICE activities in the Minneapolis area.

This broader ICE crackdown is part of a ramped-up effort by the Trump administration to increase deportations, along with encouraging self-deportations, and to intimidate those willing to advocate for immigrants.

According to a December report by The Washington Post, in Trump’s second term, there has been a rate of 2,637 "at-large" ICE arrests (out in communities) per week, which does not include self-deportations, which are also at a record high.

This is compared with 569 in his first term and 522 weekly arrests under former President Barack Obama in his second term, just prior to Trump taking office.

In addition to the high rates of ICE arrests, what makes this new phase of crackdowns unprecedented is brazen and open nature of it.

At an ICE raid of a New York granola bar factory in September, body cam footage showed ICE agents forcibly entering a women’s bathroom and telling women to pull up their trousers.

This unprecedented rate of ICE arrests and detentions is only expected to rise in the coming months as the Trump administration tap into $170 billion in congressional-approved funding allocated for immigration enforcement.