Aggressive actions of ICE deepen cracks in US society

Snatched off streets

Foster said ICE's enforcement methods are problematic.

"ICE personnel mostly are now dressed for combat, often carrying lethal weapons and almost always masked to protect their identity. In some cases, they are in plainclothes without any identification," said Foster.

Rogan, the podcaster, said in a recent discussion with Republican Senator Rand Paul: "You don't want to have militarized people in the streets just roaming around and snatching people up — many of whom turn out to actually be US citizens who just don't have their papers on them — are we really going to be the Gestapo 'where are your papers?' Is that what we have come to?"

Foster said that "public opinion toward ICE and enforcement has gone from favorable to unfavorable, particularly after the controversial shooting of Renee Good".

Rogan was blunter: "One of the real problems is now ICE are villains. And now people are looking at them like murderous, military people that are on the streets of our city and they're masked up, which is also a problem."

ICE operations have been met with resistance and protests from the public. According to a DHS statement, ICE reported 275 assaults in 2025, a huge increase over 19 reported assaults in 2024. In addition, ICE law enforcement officers experienced 66 vehicular attacks in 2025 compared with only two in 2024.

In a CNN poll done after Good's fatal shooting, 51 percent of US citizens said they believed ICE enforcement actions are making cities less safe, compared with 31 percent who said ICE makes cities safer.

US Congressman Shri Thanedar introduced The Abolish ICE Act on Jan 15.

"The American public wants immigration enforcement and safe borders, but also wants that accomplished in a lawful and humane way," Foster said.

2.5 million leave

The Department of Homeland Security said in early December that enforcement operations had led to more than 2.5 million illegal aliens leaving the US.

"DHS has deported more than 605,000 illegal aliens and another 1.9 million have self-deported. Since Jan 20, DHS has arrested more than 595,000 illegal aliens," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

"Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now. They know if they don't, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return."

The Trump administration has employed a "carrot and stick" strategy to motivate people to leave the country.

In May, the administration imposed a daily fine of $1,000 on individuals who received a final removal order. They were also threatened with having their assets, investments and bank accounts seized.

High-profile deportation cases with severe punishments have also scared migrants into leaving voluntarily.

About 240 noncitizens allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were moved to a high-security prison in El Salvador in March. Immigration lawyers have alleged migrants from Asian countries and Mexico were forcibly deported to South Sudan.

The administration also implemented incentives in May by giving migrants $1,000 to $3,000 in free air fares to the country of their choice if they leave voluntarily.

The American Enterprise Institute estimated that "net migration was between minus 295,000 and minus 10,000 for the year [2025]"and projected a similar pattern for 2026.