In the States: Trump’s Chaotic Deportation Machine Targets TPS Holders, Students, and Families in Reckless Raids

Washington, D.C. – As Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda escalates—documented immigrants, students, and everyday American families continue to be targeted. These raids continue to reveal the truth: Trump’s immigration policy is cruel, chaotic, and indiscriminate. Meanwhile, Trump continues to demand up to $350 billion from Congress to supercharge these efforts through militarized enforcement, invasive surveillance, and government overreach, all at the expense of civil rights and working families.

ICE raids under Trump’s mass deportation agenda are disregarding due process and basic protections. In New York City, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University protest leader had his green card revoked without criminal charges. In Michigan, a father with a work permit was arrested after dropping off his child at school, while in Texas, DACA recipients and authorized workers were detained in worksite raids. Across the country, ICE is terrorizing communities, detaining people at gunpoint, and escalating mass deportations under false pretenses. From wrongful arrests of U.S. citizens in Virginia to violent vehicle extractions in Indianapolis, these raids are not about public safety—they are about fear and chaos.

Read more about the everyday Americans affected by Trump’s anti-immigrant assault:

NBC: U.S. citizen child recovering from brain cancer deported to Mexico with undocumented parents

Immigration authorities removed the girl and four of her American siblings from Texas on Feb. 4, when they deported their undocumented parents.

The 10-year-old girl was diagnosed with brain cancer last year and underwent surgery to remove the tumor. Doctors “practically gave me no hope of life for her, but thank God she’s a miracle,” the mother said.

LA Times: Venezuelan couple are arrested and charged with illegal entry — two years after crossing into the U.S. (March 12, 2025; Washington, DC)

Everyone in the family now has Temporary Protected Status and a pending asylum application, Gregorio said. Temporary Protected Status allows people to legally reside and work in the U.S. if they face conditions — such as war or environmental disasters — that would prevent a safe return to their homelands.

On Monday, they were returning home from work around 1:30 p.m. when agents with Customs and Border Protection in an unmarked gray SUV arrested them. In a video of the scene taken by the eldest son, a barking dog and crying children can be heard in the background as agents detain Cesar and place him in the SUV.

“We didn’t do anything!” the boy yells out in English.

NPR: ICE arrests Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests (March 10, 2025; New York City, NY)

Greer said she spoke by phone with one of the ICE agents during the arrest, who said they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil’s student visa. Informed by the attorney that Khalil was in the United States as a permanent resident with a green card, the agent said they were revoking that instead, according to the lawyer.

Khalil’s arrest is the first publicly known deportation effort under Trump’s promised crackdown on students who joined protests against the war in Gaza that swept college campuses last spring.

The Department of Homeland Security can initiate deportation proceedings against green card holders for a broad range of alleged criminal activity, including supporting a terror group. But the detention of a legal permanent resident who has not been charged with a crime marked an extraordinary move with an uncertain legal foundation, according to immigration experts.

Detroit Free Press: Michigan immigrant father arrested by ICE outside school after dropping off child (March 7, 2025; Trenton, MI)

The arrest was made outside Arthur Middle School in Trenton after Jaimes had dropped off his eighth grade son, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a type of autism. Hector said his father had a work permit obtained a few years ago and documentation to live in the U.S.

A spokesman for ICE told the Free Press that he had been “ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2014. . . . He “remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings,” the ICE spokesman said.

IndyStar: Video of Indianapolis ICE arrest captures agents dragging men out of their vehicle (March 7, 2025; Indianapolis, IN)

His vest indicates that he’s with Enforcement and Removal Operations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement . . . . [Other] Insignias on their uniforms indicate that one is from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the other is with Homeland Security Investigations.

Neither man has been charged with a criminal offense related to the traffic stop, according to public records.

The passenger had entered the United States via a work permit, but it may have recently expired, his wife told IndyStar.

She didn’t know why either of the men would have been targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or what events may have led up to their arrest.

Houston Public Media: What is an I-9 form? How some without legal status in Houston are being arrested (March 7, 2025; Houston, TX)

The spokesperson said 20 people were arrested during an I-9 audit at Texas Couplings LLC, a warehouse in Spring. They said all twenty people did not have legal status and were taken to the Montgomery County Processing Center.

An immigrant advocacy organization said about 15 businesses also received I-9 forms during an increased presence of immigration enforcement at Colony Ridge, a residential community Northeast of Houston.

The Latin Times: U.S. Citizen Detained By ICE Says He’s Reconsidering His Trump Vote After Being Arrested at Gunpoint (March 7, 2025; VA)

Machado’s detention took place amid a broader ICE operation in Northern Virginia, according to The Washington Post. Reports of large-scale immigration arrests had circulated for days, with news outlets stating that ICE had obtained between 75 and 100 judicial warrants.

Machado recounted that ICE agents stopped his vehicle and surrounded it with weapons drawn, as quoted by Washington’s NBC 4: “they just got out of the car with the guns in their hands and say, turn off the car, give me the keys, open the window, you know. Everything was really fast.”

Machado added that agents were searching for an individual with a deportation order who had listed Machado’s home address. Machado attempted to provide his driver’s license to verify his identity, but agents ignored his offer and instead questioned his immigration status before eventually uncuffing him.

Houston Chronicle: Texas immigrants with legal status speak out after being detained by ICE (March 6, 2025; Houston, TX)

One of the immigrants was Sergio Carlos Gomez, a 30-year-old railroad worker, who has been a DACA recipient since 2013 and said he has never missed a renewal deadline for the program. Last  Thursday, while coming back from work, he got pulled over at an internal checkpoint, which are locations where agents check the legal status of the drivers. 

He showed his work permit to the officer, but was still arrested and detained.

“When he was asked to sign something he didn’t understand, he did not sign it. This could be a way different story if Sergio had signed those papers,” a spokesperson for FIEL, an immigrants’ rights organization said.

Despite the harrowing experience of being approached by ICE at a worksite raid, Kevin thought he would be fine, his mother said. He knew his social security number, and had all the information prepared. He had every legal authorization to be in the U.S., his lawyer said.

When he was detained, he was told he had an order of removal, which his attorney said is false.

Philadelphia Inquirer: ICE arrests four undocumented immigrants at Northeast Philly grocery store (March 6, 2025; Philadelphia, PA)

###

The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.

The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who are driven by the belief that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow NIPNLG on Facebook, X, and Instagram at @NIPNLG.