The unprecedented occupation of American cities by a bulked up Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has led to a series of shocking scenes over the past 12 months, including the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officials in Minneapolis. It has also led to an incredible community response as people banded together to protect their neighbours.
Guardian US immigration reporter Maanvi Singh has spent the past few months covering this story, including spending a week on the block where Alex Pretti was killed.
Just this week she covered the release of a New York high school student released after 10 months in an ICE facility. [Read more about Dylan Lopez Contreras, here.]
Maanvi answered your questions about her experiences. Read the Q&A below.
How widespread is ICE opposition?
MMMARCOMAC asks:
Do you know if Americans, outside of areas directly impacted by ICE terrorism, oppose the use of ICE and the National Guard to impose military policing in cities across the US?
Maanvi:
Across the US, polls suggest that support for the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics is slipping. In February, following the killing of two US citizens by immigration officers in Minneapolis, 65% of Americans said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has “gone too far”. That was an 11-point increase compared to the previous summer.
But of course, in cities that experienced these massive immigration raids directly, support is even lower. In Chicago, for example, about 33 per cent approve of Donald Trump’s overall job performance, while 35 per cent approve of his handling of immigration, according to a survey by polling firm GBAO this month.
Among Republicans, support for ICE is a bit higher. The vast majority of Republicans still support the administration’s immigration policies, but support is lagging. In an IPSOS poll conducted after Alex Pretti was killed by an immigration officer, 30 per cent of Republicans said that immigration enforcement efforts had gone too far – compared to 20 per cent before the shooting.
Were ICE raids planned as part of Project 2025?
KNK2028 asks:
Trump forced the collapse of a bipartisan Senate border security bill in 2024 by encouraging Republicans to oppose it.
The purpose was to give him the wedge issue in his campaign, then the ability if and when elected to attack immigrants and citizens both.
Was this part of Project 2025 and why is this no longer discussed?
Maanvi:
Much of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda was outlined in Project 2025. For example, the document called for the mandatory detention of immigrants with pending cases – a departure from the previous administration when many such immigrants were released under supervision. The document also called for a major expansion of detention facilities. It called for the collapsing of several agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (such as ICE and Customs and Border Patrol) with staff focused on the unified goal of arresting and detaining immigrants. Although these agencies haven’t been officially combined – they have been increasingly working together, with Customs and Border Patrol increasingly working in cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
And finally, Project 2025 called for limits on legal immigration – cutting off refugee admissions, scrutinizing student visas and winding down or reducing the number of H2-A and H2-B “low-skilled” seasonal work visas.
How many ICE agents have actually been stood down?
Cousin2 asks:
Q: We are told the 3000 ICE agents sent to Minneapolis have been drawn down. Reports I’ve seen say 500 remain. Is that roughly accurate? Thank you for shining a light on the military occupation of our state.
Maanvi:
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said recently that he believes fewer than 400 federal immigration officers remain in the region – which he said was still significantly higher than the normal level. Sworn affidavits filed in a legal case over the federal government’s Operation Metro Surge line up with that number, suggesting that roughly 400 federal agents remain assigned to Minnesota.
But the state, and especially Minneapolis and St Paul – where a surge of immigration officers this winter had been stopping people outside of schools and churches, at bus stops and department stores – residents remain wary. Physicians have said that many immigrants – with or without legal status – have been too afraid to attend doctors appointments. Parents remain wary about sending children to school. And many families are still trying to recalibrate after one or more members were detained this winter. In some cases, parents have been left wondering how to continue paying bills after a breadwinner was arrested. Families are still fighting to find legal help and get loved ones released from detention.
There’s a sense that the Twin Cities will be grappling with the aftermath of the raids for a while.
How does Trump’s policy impact construction?
lcprestes asks:
My cousin works in construction in Phoenix. He’s a Democrat and a union member. All his colleagues and contractors are MAGA, even though their entire business model is dependent on cheap, undocumented, and non-unionised migrant labour. Surely, the federal government knows that the construction industry would collapse (excuse, the unfortunate turn of phrase) if these workers were targeted? Is ICE turning a blind eye to sectors like construction, especially in the red states?
Maanvi:
The administration’s immigration policies definitely appear to be sending a chill through the construction industry. One in three workers is foreign-born, and in major metropolitan immigration raids, workers have been swept up at immigration checkpoints, as well as raids at Home Depot stores or even at active construction sites. In a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) conducted last summer, 92% of construction firms reported struggling to fill positions and 28% of the surveyed firms said they were affected by immigration actions.
The White House has suggested that US-born workers will step in to fill this labor gap but industry experts are doubtful. Tradework is not especially popular among American workers, and its unlikely that US-born workers could be trained up fast enough to keep up with the rapid, escalating loss of immigrant workers. Industry leaders have called on the government to open up better legal pathways for foreign-born workers to come to the US to work.
The targeting of immigrant construction workers is also likely to cause knock-on impacts. According to a July report by the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute, if Trump achieves his goal of deporting 4 million people by the end of 2028, 1.4m immigrants working in construction would be gone. And about 861,000 US-born workers would also lose their job because contractors would have to rapidly scale back.
Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
Will the wounds ever heal?
Namdam asks:
Has the extreme polarisation around ICE – its deployment, its support, and its opposition – created a fracture that will take at least a generation (or a major trauma) to heal – if ever?
Maanvi:
It’s hard to say whether the polarisation will ease back – though the recent immigration operation in Minneapolis has eroded support for the administration’s immigration enforcement approach, even among Republicans.
But immigration experts, advocates, attorneys and physicians have all told me that they worry about the lasting, generational trauma that will result from the large, militarized immigration operations. A report I covered today found that many migrant parents are being deported without their children, and without any chance of bringing their children with them – in some cases because officials deported them within days of detaining them, and never asked or checked if they had kids. Those separations could be prolonged – it’s extremely expensive and administratively complicated to reunite children with parents who’ve been deported. Both immigrant and US-born children will also have to process the trauma of seeing parents, friends and teachers caught up in raids.
Industries such as construction, agriculture and healthcare, which have a high percentage of immigrant workers, could see major and lasting impacts. US universities – which used to attract scholars from around the world – could see their academic programs degrade for years as research and scholarship are disrupted by the administration’s extra scrutiny on student and academic visas. These are just a few examples.
dworth asks:
How significant is the possibility that ICE could A) arrest and detain fans at the World Cup and B) be used during the midterms at polling stations as per an idea by Steve Bannon?
Both sound like the potential for major flashpoints and worldwide headlines but that almost seems like the point sometimes. Be interested in your take on these!
Maanvi:
A New Jersey congresswoman introduced a bill today requesting a bar on federal funding for immigration enforcement within one mile of any World Cup match and Fan Festival this summer.
But it’s hard to say exactly how it’ll play out, and whether the administration will change enforcement tactics following public outrage over the raids in LA, Chicago and Minneapolis. There will for sure be one important impact of the administration’s immigration policy on the World Cup though: due to a travel ban on 39 countries, fans from Haiti, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire, for example, won’t be able to attend. Athletes, coaches and relatives are exempt from the ban – but fans are not.
How safe is travelling to the US?
anotherSteve asks:
My partner has relatives in the USA, one elderly and not going to live long. She retains UK citizenship and worries that having stayed Democrat sympathy she can’t come to the UK as she might not be allowed back into the US. My partner suggests we have a holiday in America. In addition to my worries about global warming and my attempts to boycott anything US (not difficult) , I am worried that I could buy tickets and hotel stays and then be denied entry because I have made critical comments about Trump. Are our concerns realistic?
Maanvi:
I’m sorry you’re having to weigh these questions while trying to plan a trip to visit relatives! I cannot speak to your specific circumstances, as I’m not an immigration lawyer.
But I understand your worry. The Guardian reported on the case of a UK citizen who was detained while visiting the US on vacation. A helpful guide as you plan your trip may be this one, by my colleague Johana Bhuyian, about how to protect your phone and data privacy while at US airports or at the US borders.
Is ICE being funded despite the shutdown?
jiannone asks:
Are deployed ICE and CPB agents paid during the DHS funding lapse?
Maanvi:
Many CBP employees will continue to be paid. The agency said it will “exempt” and provide pay to a large portion of its workforce, including law enforcement personnel and some civilian agency employees. But other “excepted” employees will not receive pay until after the shutdown ends.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are similarly getting paid from funds transferred from the Big Beautiful Bill, receiving paychecks “as long as it was tied into border security,” said US representative Henry Cuellar of Texas.
Do ICE agents have far-right connections?
newyorkpoet22 asks:
Is it possible that some of the new ICE and CBP recruits have connections with white supremacist or domestic terrorism groups, such as proud boys, oath keepers or 3 percenters? To what extent have these possible connections been investigated prior to hiring?
Maanvi:
The agency has been trying to rapidly recruit staff, and reporting suggests that in the rush, the agency has cut corners on vetting and training the new hires. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, has also flagged that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using white nationalist imagery and language to recruit new employees.
Thank you all so much for your thoughtful questions!
