(UNITED STATES) — From the moment Donald Trump took the oath of office on January 20, 2025, through January 20, 2026, immigrants in America—legal and undocumented alike—experienced what amounts to the most sustained, multi-front assault on their status, safety, and psychological wellbeing in modern American history. Not a single week passed without a new executive order, ICE raid, court battle, or inflammatory statement demanding their emotional and mental resilience.
The scale is staggering: 25+ executive orders reshaping immigration law, 66,000 people in detention (the highest ever recorded), 32 deaths in ICE custody (more than the previous four years combined), travel bans expanding to 39 countries, TPS terminations affecting 1.5 million people, and rhetoric calling immigrants “garbage” from the president himself.
Week-by-week, the threats never stopped
The relentless nature of this year becomes clear when mapped chronologically. Every month brought cascading policy changes, enforcement actions, and legal battles that kept immigrant communities in constant crisis mode.
January 2025 opened with a blitz: On inauguration day alone, Trump signed executive orders attempting to end birthright citizenship, declaring a “national emergency” at the border, designating cartels as terrorists, reinstating “Remain in Mexico,” and shutting down the CBP One app—stranding 270,000 asylum seekers with canceled appointments. The next day, DHS rescinded protections for “sensitive locations,” meaning ICE could now raid schools, churches, and hospitals.
February saw the launch of a $200 million “self-deportation” advertising campaign with Secretary Kristi Noem warning: “If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you.” USCIS began issuing Notices to Appear after adverse decisions, turning benefit applications into deportation triggers.
March brought the first invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a law last used against Japanese Americans—to bypass due process for Venezuelans. The administration terminated parole for 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. Federal judges issued emergency injunctions; the administration defied them, deporting people to El Salvador’s CECOT prison even as planes were ordered stopped.
The evidence suggests that no “peaceful week” has existed for the 48 million foreign-born population in the United States. From Executive Order 14159 on Inauguration Day to the shooting of American citizen Renee Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis in early 2026, the operational tempo of immigration enforcement has been sustained at emergency levels.
April-May saw 10,000+ military personnel deployed to the border, including Stryker armored vehicles. Stephen Miller demanded 3,000 arrests daily. ICE began arresting people attending court hearings and scheduled check-ins. Mass visa revocations targeted 1,800+ students from 280 colleges.
June brought the first travel ban proclamation, blocking nationals from 19 countries. A separate proclamation banned new international students from Harvard. State Department paused adding new visa appointment capacity globally. F-1 visa interviews were suspended for three weeks.
July 4, 2025—Independence Day—Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” allocating $170.7 billion for enforcement, tripling ICE’s budget, authorizing indefinite family detention, and stripping Medicaid, SNAP, and Child Tax Credits from immigrants and their 4.5 million U.S. citizen children. TPS was terminated for Honduras and Nicaragua.
August-September introduced a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions, proposed ending “Duration of Status” for students (replacing it with strict time limits), and launched “Project Firewall” targeting H-1B employers. The largest workplace raid in ICE history detained 475 workers at a Hyundai plant in Georgia.
October saw the Supreme Court allow Venezuela’s TPS termination to proceed (6-3), and ICE eliminated automatic work permit extensions—creating immediate employment gaps for hundreds of thousands.
November brought the proposed public charge rule aiming to deny green cards to anyone who might use any public benefit. TPS was terminated for Somalia, Burma, and South Sudan. The Thanksgiving holiday featured Trump calling Somali immigrants “garbage” on social media.
December expanded the travel ban to 39 countries, suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery indefinitely, and paused immigrant visas for 75 countries. On December 22, a federal judge found the administration violated due process in deportations.
January 2026 began with “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis—described as the “largest immigration enforcement operation ever”—culminating in ICE agent Jonathan Ross shooting and killing Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen mother, through her car window on January 7. Schools closed. Over 1,000 protests erupted nationwide.
The architecture of enforcement: Project 2025 realized
The speed and specificity with which the administration moved to overhaul the immigration system suggests that the “Mandate for Leadership,” often referred to as Project 2025, served not merely as a theoretical blueprint but as an operational manual. The strategic objective was clear: to overwhelm the existing immigration infrastructure through a “blitz” of executive actions.
On January 20, 2025, the administration issued Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” This order was foundational, reclassifying unauthorized migration from a civil administrative issue to a national security threat akin to a military invasion. By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a statute largely dormant since World War II—the administration sought to bypass standard judicial review for removals.
The fiscal fuel for this enforcement engine was provided by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed by Congress in July 2025. This legislation allocated an unprecedented $170 billion in additional funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), nearly tripling ICE’s budget to $29.9 billion for enforcement and $5 billion for detention through 2029. This budgetary explosion facilitated the hiring of 12,000 new ICE officers and agents, effectively doubling the agency’s interior enforcement capacity.
Entangling local and federal power
A central tenet of the 2025 strategy was the conscription of state and local resources into the federal enforcement apparatus. The administration operationalized this by aggressively expanding Section 287(g) agreements, which deputize local law enforcement officers to perform the functions of federal immigration agents.
By the end of 2025, DHS had secured over 1,255 signed agreements with state and local partnerships—a historic high. These agreements expanded to “task force models” where officers on patrol could inquire about immigration status during routine stops. In states like Florida, Texas, and Georgia, state legislatures passed laws mandating cooperation with ICE, effectively stripping local sheriffs of the discretion to opt out of federal enforcement.
The machinery of mass deportation
The defining feature of 2025 was the operationalization of “mass deportation.” Unlike previous administrations that prioritized recent border crossers or individuals with serious criminal convictions, the 2025 strategy adopted an indiscriminate approach dubbed “comprehensive enforcement.” The goal was not merely to remove specific individuals but to create a hostile environment that would induce “self-deportation” on a massive scale.
The numbers reported by DHS depict a system operating at maximum velocity. In the first year, DHS claimed to have removed more than 670,000 individuals through formal deportation proceedings. The administration also touted a figure of nearly 2 million “self-deportations”—a statistic driven by the $200 million advertising campaign warning: “If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return.”
ICE arrest data reveals a significant shift in targeting. Independent analysis indicates that over 70% of those arrested had no criminal convictions or were charged with minor immigration violations. Arrests of people with no criminal record surged 2,450%. Tom Homan told Axios: “If you’re in the United States illegally, you’re not off the table.”
The expansion of detention infrastructure
To accommodate the surge in arrests, the administration radically expanded U.S. detention capacity. ICE detention grew from 40,000 to 66,000—a 75% increase representing the highest level ever recorded. The number of facilities expanded by 104 (a 91% increase), with contracts worth billions going to private prison companies.
Two facilities became symbols of this expansion:
- Camp East Montana (Fort Bliss, Texas): A sprawling tent city plagued by reports of inhumane conditions. Three detainees died in custody within a 44-day period. The ACLU compiled 16 signed declarations documenting physical beatings, sexual abuse, coercive threats, and denial of medical care—built on a former Japanese internment site.
- Alligator Alcatraz (Everglades, Florida): The first state-run facility dedicated to immigration detention. Reports described conditions amounting to torture, including the use of “the box”—a 2×2 foot cage—and routine shackling. Its remote location made legal access nearly impossible.
Deaths in custody: A historic high
The human cost of this rapid expansion was lethal. 32 people died in ICE detention in 2025—more than the previous four years combined. This surpassed the previous record set in 2004. The causes of death ranged from suicide to untreated medical conditions, painting a picture of a system overwhelmed and indifferent to the health of those in its care.
Deaths included Francisco Gaspar Andres (medical neglect), Geraldo Lunas Campos (preliminary cause: “compression of neck and chest”—possible homicide), and at least three apparent suicides. The detained population swelled to nearly 68,440 by mid-December, with facilities operating at or beyond capacity.
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total Removals (Deportations) | > 605,000 | DHS Statement |
| Estimated “Self-Deportations” | 1.9 – 2.2 Million | White House/DHS |
| Net Migration (2025) | -10,000 to -295,000 | Brookings Institution |
| Deaths in ICE Custody | 32 | The Guardian/ICE Data |
| H-1B Visa Fee (New) | $100,000 per petition | USCIS/Exec Order |
| Decline in H-1B Registrations | 26.9% decrease | USCIS |
| ICE Budget (FY 2025-26) | $29.9 Billion | “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” |
| New ICE Agents Hired | ~12,000 | DHS |
The erosion of legal immigration
While the spectacle of mass deportation dominated the headlines, the administration engaged in a quieter, systematic dismantling of legal immigration pathways. This “invisible wall” was constructed through bureaucratic friction, fee hikes, and regulatory changes designed to reduce the number of foreign nationals entering or remaining in the U.S. legally.
The H-1B visa crackdown
The administration viewed the H-1B visa program not as a tool for economic competitiveness but as a mechanism for displacing American workers. On September 21, 2025, a Presidential Proclamation imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions. This prohibitive cost was explicitly designed to make the visa economically unviable for all but the largest corporations.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers commented: “The $100,000 payment required to supplement new H-1B visa applications is a significant first step to stop abuses of the system and ensure American workers are protected.”
Simultaneously, the administration introduced a weighted lottery system that favored the highest-paid positions. Under this new rule, registrations for entry-level “Level I” wage positions were assigned a selection probability of just 8.5%, compared to 34% for “Level IV” highly compensated roles. The result was a dramatic 26.9% reduction in eligible registrations for the FY 2026 cap.
The Gold Card: Citizenship for sale
In a stark pivot toward a transactional immigration model, President Trump signed Executive Order 14351 in September 2025, establishing the “Gold Card” program. This initiative offered expedited processing and residency to individuals willing to “gift” $1 million to the U.S. government, or $2 million for corporate-sponsored individuals. A “Platinum Card” tier was also proposed for a $5 million contribution.
- Gold Card: $1 Million — Basic expedited processing and residency pathway
- Corporate Sponsorship: $2 Million — Enhanced pathway for corporate-sponsored individuals
- Platinum Card (Proposed): $5 Million — Extended residency rights with tax advantages
Critics argued that this program commodified citizenship, replacing merit, family ties, and humanitarian needs with raw purchasing power. The Gold Card program represented a philosophical shift, viewing immigrants not as future citizens contributing to the social fabric, but as revenue sources.
Attacks on humanitarian pathways
The asylum system was effectively dismantled through a combination of executive orders and regulatory changes. The “Remain in Mexico” policy was reinstated and expanded, forcing asylum seekers to wait in dangerous Mexican border cities for their hearings. New regulations raised the credible fear standard, resulting in rejection rates soaring to 76% in immigration courts by March 2025.
TPS holders watched their protected status evaporate country by country. Venezuela (300,000 people), Haiti (200,000), Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Burma, South Sudan, Ethiopia—each termination announcement triggered legal battles but left beneficiaries uncertain whether they could work, drive, or remain. The administration explicitly stated it would terminate TPS for all countries by 2026.
The weaponization of citizenship: Denaturalization
Perhaps the most psychologically destabilizing development of 2025 was the administration’s focus on denaturalization—the revocation of U.S. citizenship from naturalized Americans. Historically reserved for egregious cases of war crimes or massive fraud, denaturalization became a “top 5 enforcement priority” for the Department of Justice.
On June 11, 2025, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate issued a memorandum instructing Civil Division attorneys to “maximally pursue” denaturalization cases. The memo expanded the criteria to include not just terrorism or human rights abuses, but also “financial fraud,” participation in gang activity, and broadly defined “misrepresentation” on naturalization applications.
The administration set a target of increasing denaturalization cases by 100-fold. Operation Janus 2.0 utilized digitized fingerprint records to identify discrepancies in decades-old applications. While the legal hurdle for denaturalization remains high, the mere existence of the task force created a climate of fear among naturalized citizens—signaling that citizenship was no longer a permanent protection.
The potential for political weaponization became a reality when Zohran Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen and New York City mayoral candidate, became the target of a campaign by Republican lawmakers urging his denaturalization due to his political speech. The White House Press Secretary’s comments that the administration was “looking at” such options signaled citizenship is conditional for those who dissent.
The humanitarian crisis in the interior
The impact of these policies extended deep into the fabric of American communities, creating a humanitarian crisis not at the border, but in cities, schools, and homes across the nation.
Family separation and the “hidden” orphans
Arrests of undocumented parents often occurred while children were at school or daycare, leaving minors effectively orphaned by the state. In 2025, it was estimated that over 5 million children lived with at least one undocumented parent. CNN identified more than 100 U.S. citizen children left stranded by ICE actions—ranging from newborns to teenagers, including an autistic 11-year-old placed in Nebraska foster care.
The fear of separation drove families underground. Reports from KFF indicated that 40% of immigrant adults experienced negative health impacts due to immigration-related worries, with many avoiding medical care or social services for fear of detection.
Mental health and the trauma of constant threat
The psychological toll of the last year has been devastating. A KFF-New York Times survey in November 2025 found:
- 75% of likely-undocumented immigrants avoided work, travel, public places, or medical care due to fear
- 22% of all immigrants personally knew someone arrested, detained, or deported in 2025
- 40% reported worsened health from immigration-related anxiety
- Only 1 in 3 immigrants believed the U.S. remained welcoming
Academic studies in The Lancet found immigration detention associated with higher rates of depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation, particularly among children. Dr. Lisa Fortuna, Chair of Psychiatry at UC Riverside, warned: “We are witnessing the effects of chronic fear, disrupted attachment, and intergenerational trauma on a massive scale.”
Human stories reveal the intimate devastation
Behind the statistics are families whose lives were shattered.
Kenia Perez, a Honduran mother of three in Texas, was deported 11 days after arrest despite having a work permit valid until 2026. She had never missed an ICE check-in and paid taxes for years. Her U.S. citizen children Febe (6) and Angelo (9) were left with family friend Jeff Chaney, a Trump voter who told reporters: “This is not what I voted for… This is inhumane.”
The Merlos family in Portland—business owners for decades—were detained, leaving their four U.S. citizen children (9-year-old triplets and a 7-year-old) with a family friend. Their mother wrote from detention: “I feel powerless not being able to see or hug my children, play with them, and watch them grow.” The children began psychiatric care.
Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, an 11-year-old U.S. citizen in Texas, died by suicide in February 2025 after classmates persistently bullied her with threats that her family would be reported to ICE.
Economic consequences: The cost of exclusion
The aggressive restriction of immigration precipitated severe economic disruptions, validating the warnings of economists who predicted that mass deportation would be inflationary and damaging to GDP.
Labor shortages and inflation
The removal of workers from key sectors created immediate supply shocks. Agriculture and construction were hit hardest. In states like Florida and Texas, farmers reported crops rotting in the fields due to a lack of labor, leading to a 14.5% increase in fresh produce prices.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics documented 155,000 agricultural jobs lost since March 2025—the largest shortage in nearly a decade. Following California raids, 30-60% of workers stopped showing up. Wisconsin dairy farmers warned: “Without these immigrants, we would struggle. Well, we wouldn’t exist, basically.”
In construction, a sector where immigrants make up nearly a quarter of the workforce, labor shortages caused significant project delays. Surveys indicated that 92% of construction firms reported difficulty finding workers, leading to delays in 45% of projects.
| Indicator | Impact/Change | Context |
|---|---|---|
| GDP Impact | Dampened growth | Consumer spending reduced by $60-110B |
| Construction Labor | Severe Shortages | 92% of firms report difficulty hiring |
| Fresh Produce Prices | +14.5% | Farm labor shortages in key states |
| Agricultural Jobs Lost | 155,000 | Largest shortage in nearly a decade |
| Tech Sector | “Techxodus” | Talent moving to Canada; U.S. freezes |
The chilling effects on healthcare and education
Healthcare access collapsed in immigrant communities. A survey of 691 healthcare workers found 84% report significant or moderate decreases in patient visits since the January executive orders. Physicians reported children as young as 6 presenting with anxiety about family separation. Parents declined surgery for their children, refused specialty referrals, and avoided prenatal care.
School enrollment plummeted. Miami-Dade County saw new students from abroad fall from 20,000+ to 2,550—an 82% drop creating a $70 million budget shortfall. Houston shuttered its Las Americas Newcomer School when enrollment fell from 111 to 21 students. On November 17, 2025, 30,000+ students were absent from Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools during an ICE operation.
NAFSA estimated that the 17% drop in new international enrollment translates to over $1.1 billion in lost revenue and nearly 23,000 fewer jobs.
Civil unrest and the surveillance state
The enforcement crackdown sparked massive civil resistance and a counter-reaction from the state that eroded civil liberties for all Americans.
Protests and the Renee Good shooting
Throughout 2025, protests erupted in major cities against ICE raids. The flashpoint occurred on January 7, 2026, in Minneapolis, when Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an operation. She was acting as a legal observer. ICE alleged she attempted to run over an agent—a claim disputed by eyewitnesses and video analysis which showed the agent moving toward the vehicle before firing.
The killing sparked the largest mobilization of the year: 1,000+ events nationwide organized under “ICE Out For Good” by coalitions including Indivisible, MoveOn, ACLU, Voto Latino, and United We Dream. Governor Walz declared January 9 “Renee Good Day.” Articles of impeachment were filed against DHS Secretary Noem. Minneapolis Public Schools closed entirely January 8-10, offering only online learning.
Rise in hate crimes
The normalization of anti-immigrant rhetoric correlated with a rise in hate crimes. FBI statistics for 2025 showed an uptick in bias-motivated incidents against Hispanic, Asian, and Muslim Americans. The blurring of lines between “illegal” status and racial identity meant that citizens and legal residents increasingly faced harassment and discrimination based on their perceived foreignness.
State-level fracture: The Blue Wall vs. The Red Surge
The federal crackdown accelerated the polarization of state laws, creating two distinct legal realities within one nation.
Approximately 90 anti-sanctuary bills were introduced across states in 2024-2025. Nine states passed anti-sanctuary legislation. The administration published a list of 500+ sanctuary jurisdictions targeted for potential funding cuts.
Communities mobilized, but exhaustion mounted
The relentless assault prompted unprecedented organizing—but the scale of the threat outpaced response capacity.
Within days of inauguration, Know Your Rights campaigns launched in Chicago (400+ CTA screens with QR codes), Los Angeles, Seattle, and dozens of other cities. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center distributed “Red Cards” in 50+ languages. Churches like Lake View Presbyterian in Chicago converted Sunday school classrooms into apartments.
Legal defense funds mobilized rapidly. United We Dream and the ACLU launched a $30 million Defending Our Neighbors Fund. Vermont’s Immigration Legal Defense Fund raised $1 million. Over 675 habeas corpus petitions were filed in Texas alone between January-November 2025—more than during the entire first Trump term.
Courts became a weekly battleground
Legal uncertainty defined the immigrant experience in 2025, with cases reaching the Supreme Court in weeks rather than years, conflicting rulings creating geographic chaos, and emergency orders on the “shadow docket” becoming routine.
The birthright citizenship challenge exemplifies the pattern: Executive order signed January 20, first lawsuit filed January 21, preliminary injunction February 10, Supreme Court granting certiorari December 5. For pregnant immigrant women, each ruling created new uncertainty about whether their children would be citizens.
DACA recipients—530,000 people who have lived in the U.S. since childhood—faced the Fifth Circuit ruling parts of the program unlawful, keeping the threat alive that work authorization could end any day.
The Alien Enemies Act litigation showed courts could restrain the administration—but not reliably. Judge Boasberg ordered deportation flights stopped on March 15; planes departed anyway. He found “probable cause” for criminal contempt in July. Yet 238 Venezuelans had already been sent to CECOT prison in El Salvador.
DHS publishes enforcement statistics through ICE’s official statistics page. Court filings and opinions are available via U.S. Courts PACER system. Executive orders appear at the White House Presidential Actions page. The ACLU maintains a comprehensive tracker of immigration litigation at ACLU Immigration Cases Tracker.
Conclusion: A year of unrelenting crisis
The evidence is unambiguous: From January 20, 2025 to January 20, 2026, immigrants in America did not experience a single peaceful week. Every week brought new executive orders, enforcement operations, court battles, legislative threats, or inflammatory rhetoric demanding emotional and mental resilience from more than 45 million foreign-born residents and their families.
This was not incidental but intentional. The self-deportation campaign explicitly aimed to create conditions so unbearable that immigrants would leave. The administration celebrated when DHS claimed 1.9 million “voluntary” departures. Stephen Miller demanded 3,000 arrests daily. The president called immigrants “garbage” on Thanksgiving.
The toll is measured in 32 deaths in detention, 100+ U.S. citizen children stranded without parents, an 11-year-old who died by suicide after ICE-related bullying, 84% of healthcare providers seeing patient visits decline, 82% drops in newcomer school enrollment, and 75% of undocumented immigrants afraid to leave their homes for work, travel, or medical care.
Legal permanent residents, H-1B workers, international students, TPS holders, DACA recipients, asylum seekers, and undocumented immigrants all faced distinct but overlapping threats—creating a climate where no immigration status provided reliable security.
A software engineer in Silicon Valley and a farmworker in California’s Central Valley both lived under the same cloud of uncertainty. As the administration enters its second year, the infrastructure for an even more aggressive crackdown is fully in place.
Immigrants deserve a break from constant threats. The evidence of this year demonstrates they have not received one.
