According to ‘The Times’, under President Donald Trump’s second non-consecutive term, 32 deaths from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were reported in 2025, while six have been reported this year thus far. Those deaths combined are more than the reported deaths in 2004 under George W. Bush’s presidency. While this may not seem like an outrageous number, the majority of these deaths come from documented U.S. citizens.
Such people include Alex Pretti. Pretti was murdered on Jan. 24 during a protest against immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that he was waving a firearm aggressively at them, though a series of videos released after the fact contradicts this, seeing as he was holding a phone at the time of his death, not a gun. Pretti was indeed innocent; he was simply acting on his constitutional right to peacefully protest, and the ICE agents simply did not like that.
Not only are deaths occurring from ICE agents, but they have also been taking it upon themselves to use force whenever they see it as necessary. However, most of the time, it is not necessary whatsoever. During many protests in places such as Portland, Minneapolis and Chicago, ICE agents are seen to use tear gas on those who are protesting, leaving many injured.
The question still remains: why are innocent people getting shot and injured for exercising their constitutional rights?
ICE has also been seen expanding its reach throughout local law enforcement agencies. They have partnered with hundreds of offices, agencies and departments to further deportation.
Five departments and offices in the surrounding areas have partnered with ICE, including: Sewickley Township Constable’s Office, New Sewickley Township Police Department, Chippewa Township Police Department, Center Township Police Department and Beaver County Sheriff’s Office. These departments and offices give the authority to their law enforcement officers to act as if they are immigration officers under ICE’s direction and oversight, meaning that they have the ability to deport and detain immigrants throughout the county.
ICE often relies more on administrative warrants instead of judicial warrants as well, which is where warrants are being signed by ICE officers, not by judges. This completely goes against the Fourth Amendment, which states that arrests and detentions require a judicial warrant based on probable cause. They have also been seen entering homes of immigrants illegally as well, meaning they will go into their houses without proper warrants. Even though those people may be undocumented, any type of law enforcement officers are supposed to get proper documentation to enter a home regardless of the individual or family and their documentation. These acts are extremely unconstitutional.
While many people throughout the country simply believe that ICE officers are just enforcing the law, this enforcement does not justify unconstitutional violations. ICE agents are repeatedly seen again and again to break what is stated in the Constitution. They believe that they are keeping the country safe, but how can they say that they are looking for safety when they are doing most of the actions they are doing unconstitutionally?
officers—are permitted to arrest individuals who commit civil infractions in public spaces without administrative or judicial warrants.
However, ICE agents are required to have a judicial warrant signed by a judge before entering a home, even if they are arresting an immigrant for a civil infraction. An administrative warrant signed by an ICE officer permits another agent to approach private property, but they can be refused entry.
There have been several instances in 2025 where ICE agents have forcefully entered homes without warrants.
According to the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), ICE officers raided a home in Portland, Oregon, in October. Gloria Magaña, the homeowner, told CBS her son called to inform her that the officers were outside their house yelling for a man named Israel. No one in the residence went by that name. Nevertheless, the agents broke into the property and arrested Magaña’s husband and their son.
Just over a month later, on Nov. 25, a 26-year-old house painter, Jeffrey Suazo, was pursued by ICE agents looking for Victor Rodriguez, a Honduran immigrant. When Suazo fled to his home in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he locked all the doors but one in the first-floor residence, where Rodriguez lived. According to the Sahan Journal, ICE agents entered through the unlocked door and proceeded to taunt the Suazo family. They allegedly called out “señora, señora” to locate any women in the estate, then referred to Suazo as “poco hombre.” After nearly five hours, Suazo decided to comply with the officers.
Warrantless arrests on private property have also occurred in populous cities, including Chicago, Illinois.
In March 2025, Trump formally invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a law in the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts—to allow the expeditious detention and removal of undocumented immigrants. The Alien Enemies Act grants wartime authority to remove immigrants or nationals of an enemy territory without due process or warrants. PBS reported that the President used this 236-year-old law to validate the rapid deportations of 250 Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador, claiming that they were members of Tren de Aragua, an organized crime syndicate.
The Trump administration declared that the use of this authority was justified because the alleged influx of foreign drug dealers and gang members constitutes a time of war. By legal definition, though, a “time of war” is a period in which there is armed conflict. Even if there was an influx of hostile foreign criminals in the country, there are statistically fewer of them than hostile native-born criminals, as per an American Immigration Council fact sheet. Logically, then, Trump’s wartime assertion is driven by native-born citizens, not undocumented immigrants.
The federal government has converted a homeland security agency into an ethnic cleansing organization. Statistics do not lie—most immigrants in custody are not dangerous criminals, and they are less likely to be criminals than native citizens. Federal authority is being deliberately abused to unjustly strip residents of their Fourth Amendment rights. In the process, they are spreading a harmful, intolerant narrative surrounding immigrants.