Although ICE and CBP seem to avoid operations in the style of retired former immigration commander Greg Bovino, Donald Trump’s government remains focused on detaining and deporting immigrants without a criminal history even though the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Markwayne Mullin, says that “we continue to go after the worst of the worst.”
The difference, Mullin told CNBC, is that now “we’re doing it in a more discreet way.”
But they continue to cause damage.
One of the most affected sectors are the “dreamers” who since 2012, with the implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) by Democratic President Barack Obama, were protected from deportation and obtained renewable work permits.
Since his first administration, Trump has wanted to eliminate the program and, in fact, while the case continues in court, new applications are not being accepted, although existing permits are being renewed.
But the Trump administration maintains that DACA does not confer legal status and, therefore, does not prevent them from being detained and deported, especially if they commit a crime.
Recent developments show the precariousness of DACA for its beneficiaries: some 174 were deported between January and September 2025; The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled that having DACA does not automatically stop deportation proceedings; and delays in DACA renewal have left many unemployed and unprotected from possible detention and deportation.
The case of José Contreras Díaz has been widely reported because he was arrested in the middle of his DACA renewal appointment. It was reported that Contreras was brought by his family from Honduras at the age of eight. He obtained DACA, but it wasn’t until this renewal appointment that agents stopped him.
Contreras was deported to Honduras, but his lawyer, Stacy Tolchin, argued that the deportation was illegal because his DACA was in effect. The government brought him back to Texas, but upon arrival, he was arrested and sent to a detention center.
Contreras’ case is not isolated.
According to FWD.us, as of September 2024, about 530,000 “dreamers” had DACA.
“Dreamers already contribute an estimated $65 billion to the U.S. economy through their wages each year, and pay nearly $18 billion in federal, payroll, state and local taxes annually,” according to FWD.us.
But many of these “dreamers” are losing their jobs and their protections due to delays in DACA renewal. The Associated Press reported that “as of late April 2026, USCIS reported that most renewal applications were completed in about 122 days…Immigrant organizations say that lately, some applicants have had to wait six months — about 183 days — or even longer.”
The reality is that the Trump administration has focused on delegalizing immigrants and, in fact, detains and deports people protected by various programs, such as asylum seekers, beneficiaries of DACA, TPS and other humanitarian initiatives.
Even US citizens and authorized residents are victims of racial profiling. In its quest to meet its goal of deporting 1 million immigrants per year, the Trump administration ignores due process of law, the rule of law, and the Constitution itself.
In fact, many immigrants are detained when, in compliance with the law, they attend follow-up appointments for their cases at ICE offices or courts. Many deportations are summary without the opportunity for hearings. Those who are detained are exposed to prolonged stays and deplorable conditions without access to adequate medical care or facing physical violence and abuse.
El País reported that “an investigation by The Washington Post has revealed that, in the first year of Trump’s term, in at least 780 cases, ICE center personnel used physical force or chemical agents to control detainees.”
The cruelty is such that children are forced to appear alone before immigration judges without legal representation. Like Wilfredo, a 10-year-old Venezuelan boy who navigates his deportation process to a third country alone. Wilfredo and his mother have a pending asylum case, but the woman was detained in Texas and the cases were separated.
“The experience was so overwhelming that the minor, in a panic, lost control of his sphincters and urinated on himself,” La Opinión reported, citing Univision. “I was afraid because it was my first time in court,” Wilfredo explained.
Cruelty at its finest.
