Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s large-scale operations in New York City this week left directly impacted community members, including advocates, allies and organizations representing immigrant rights, uncertain about who ICE was targeting.
The uncertainty has led to urgent calls for Know Your Rights workshops, leaflets, and toolkits to ensure that immigrants are well-informed about their legal protections — something that Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has complained is hindering ICE’s enforcement operations.
This week, ICE carried out large-scale operations in New York City, representing the most visible immigration crackdown since Trump’s return to office. The effort involved multiple federal agencies and led to 39 arrests on Tuesday alone, according to Frank Tarentino, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York office, which is participating in the raids.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was present during the raids, while select reporters were invited to document the dramatic show of force. The arrests were highlighted on government social media, reinforcing the administration’s intention to appear strict on immigration enforcement.
The American Immigration Council told reporters in a webinar Thursday that they have indeed noticed the Trump administration is targeting immigrants with no criminal history.
“We’ve heard the Trump administration talk about targeting criminal immigrants, but this set of changes targets very many immigrants who have no criminal records at all, or for those who do, who pose absolutely no public safety threat,” said Nayna Gupta, the policy director at the American Immigration Council.
U.S. demographic data from the 1980s to 2022 shows that fewer than one in 10 undocumented immigrants have a criminal record.
“So to reach the number of arrests and deportations, the Trump administration is marketing they will necessarily have to target folks without criminal system contact,” Gupta said. “When no one is a priority for enforcement, everyone becomes a priority. That means that people on the ground don’t know if they’re at risk when they leave their homes. This is what leads to a chilling effect where folks are less likely to come to work or to school.”
A new report by NBC News shows only 52% of those arrested by ICE in just one day in Chicago were considered “criminal arrests,” while others were not. The latest data suggests there are a high number of collateral arrests — an occurrence mutual aid groups, immigrant service providers, and communities have been concerned about, leading many, including children, to not leave their homes.
Legal advocates are closely monitoring whether those arrested are being held in ICE detention centers, swiftly deported, or subjected to both processes. Meanwhile, immigration lawyers report that ICE has conducted home arrests, including the detention of a client in the Bronx being served by UnLocal — a community-centered nonprofit that provides direct immigration legal representation and community education.
In communication shared with Documented, some mutual aid groups said reports from ICE, while informative, present a highly curated perspective on enforcement operations. These official accounts often depict raids as targeting only dangerous criminals, omitting instances where individuals with legal status, no criminal record, and even families with children are apprehended. They said ICE has indeed detained individuals with legal status, no criminal record and many with children.
The reality of these operations appears far more complex than the carefully managed narratives suggest.
In addition, just yesterday, news broke that President Donald Trump signed an executive order saying that up to 30,000 migrants should be sent to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba — an unprecedented move.
“At no point in U.S. history has any individual apprehended inside the United States for any reasons, terrorism or otherwise, been sent to Guantanamo,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council. “This raises very serious legal and constitutional questions as to whether they are authorized to do this and how they would carry out any kind of immigration proceedings for people detained at Guantanamo Bay, and there will almost certainly be legal challenges on this as well.”
Gupta said that it’s important to remind people that they do not have to allow ICE into their homes or schools. ICE arrest warrants are administrative, not judicial, meaning people are not required to comply with them.
“So people have the right not to share their citizenship information when asked, they have the right not to let ICE into their homes,” she said. “This education is critical. […] We heard…Homan, on TV, saying that they were unable to effectuate as many arrests because people were aware and educated on their rights.”
Organizing and informing communities of their legal rights is a key way to protect them, Gupta added.
This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
