ICE and Human Rights Violations

Deportation Without Due Process, Putting People in Imminent Danger

Since the beginning of the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, there has been a surge of reports and lawsuits where ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has deported without due process. Due process is a constitutional right granted to all citizens and non-citizens in the United States, where all individuals have a chance to defend their rights and have a fair hearing. This protects people from any sudden and authoritarian government decisions. 

The revocation of the right to due process has been a highlighted issue amid Trump’s executive actions that have resulted in rapid deportations of undocumented immigrants, including asylum seekers, without any legal hearings, which are required by law. According to NPR, the Trump administration is telling immigrants who entered the U.S. legally using the CBP One mobile app (an app that provides services by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection), to leave the country immediately. Another dangerous decision made by the administration in late March was to end a federal contract that provides legal aid to unaccompanied minors in the U.S. This would put 26,000 children who are in the U.S. without a guardian, in imminent risk of trafficking and exploitation. Many immigration judges have been put on leave or terminated. 

According to the Guardian, average daily immigration arrests in June 2025 increased by 268% compared to June in the previous year; the majority of the people arrested had no criminal convictions. In addition to the tens and thousands of people currently being detained in ICE detention centers all over the country, the Trump administration announced that it would make space for 30,000 immigrants at Guantanamo Bay detention camp, an infamous facility disgraced and long associated with detaining and torturing hundreds of innocent Muslim men and boys on unspecified charges after 9/11, by the U.S. 

Abuse in the ICE Detention Centers

ICE has a long history of human rights violations, and it has faced numerous allegations, including solitary confinement in response to individuals experiencing mental health crises, delayed and neglectful medical care, physical abuse, forced labor, and sexual assault. 

A new report was published in June of this year after an investigation was launched into the human rights abuses in the immigration detention centers. The investigation confirmed deaths, mistreatment of pregnant women and children, unhygienic living conditions, inadequate food and water, family separation, etc. A four year old child undergoing cancer treatment was reportedly deported without permission to consult a doctor. A ten year old child who was recovering from brain surgery was detained with her family, denied necessary medical care, and faces swelling in her brain and difficulties with her speech and mobility. According to NBC News, ICE sent three US citizens to Honduras, along with their mothers, who were set for deportation. One of the children, a 5 year old boy, had a rare form of kidney cancer for which he was undergoing treatment.At least two 911 calls from made from an ICE Processing Center in California, reporting sexual assault or threats of sexual assault, and at least four calls were made from ICE Processing Centers in Texas referencing sexual abuse. 

The cases mentioned above are only a few of the thousands of cases nationwide. Families have been torn apart, kids have been sent back to countries they barely know, and the trauma of the abuses these individuals have endured while detained will leave a lasting impact on their mental health. Every individual has human rights that must be upheld and never violated, no matter the circumstances. The Trump administration “has already undermined human rights in the U.S. and around the world,” according to Human Rights Watch. 

Written by まりか