"Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared." ―Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (January 13, 1943)

“Yes, in fact, I like to talk about it, it feels validating. I feel like being open about it and telling his story increases awareness of the issue. And without that, nothing can change. So, if anything, I’m a little too open about it, talking to strangers about it or whatever. But yeah, I feel it’s been an important aspect of working for change.” -R.R., 23-year-old U.S. citizen whose husband was incarcerated and then deported, Texas

"We made it clear to ICE and DHS that they were violating federal law." -U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, Angie Craig

“People all across the country care about their country. I care about my country, and I want a democracy.” -Carol Spindel, American Civil Liberties Union

“I'm insanely angry, completely heartbroken and devastated, and then just like longing and hoping that things get better.” -Ellison M., protestor

Because that random woman put them in jail just because she didn’t like them and just called the cops on them and they went to jail so easily, I wouldn’t tell anyone freely. People are crazy and I wouldn’t want to put them at risk or anything

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, December 23rd, refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area to support its immigration crackdown, a significant defeat for the president’s efforts to send troops to U.S. cities.

The justices declined the Republican administration’s emergency request to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge April Perry that had blocked the deployment of troops. An appeals court also had refused to step in. The Supreme Court took more than two months to act.

And then, not even wanting to share with your friends at school that your dad got detained by ICE, right? So not really being able to share that with people at school in fear that there would be judgment or retaliation. Or exposure or identification by the wrong groups or people

Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old freshman at Babson College, was flown to Honduras two days after being detained at Boston’s airport on Nov. 20, despite a court order on Nov. 21 that she remain in Massachusetts.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter filed a response Wednesday in the case, saying the Boston judge who issued the order lacked jurisdiction because by then, Lopez Belloza was already in Texas on her way out of the country.

Her attorney argues she never knew about the longstanding removal order let alone how to challenge it, and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement made it nearly impossible to locate her as she was being deported

I don’t talk about any of this. I really hesitate, but I guess I am very cognizant of what information I share. So, yea, if I am applying to something and they ask me questions about my dad and they’re a little bit more personal I probably wouldn’t go through with it.” -M.A., 24-year-old, New Jersey. She was born in Mexico and able to qualify and benefit from DACA, her parents were not. When she was seven years old, her father was deported.

D.M., a 38-year-old, Illinois. Her sons were both deported and D.M. is someone who thinks of disclosure as a means of desahogarse. One of her sons was able to return to the United States post-deportation. Her other son, however, has been missing ever since he was deported.

So, then I had a period where I would cry a lot. Now, I still get a little shaky, but it’s become a lot easier for me to speak about it and more because I feel it’s become more important so that something could be done hopefully.” - J.H., a 28-year-old U.S.-born citizen who has multiple family members who have been deported, New Mexico

On October 22, 2025, Kim Erwin, a school counselor in Idaho’s public education system for nearly 30 years, opinion piece, Idaho children shouldn’t fear being detained by ICE while at school, was published in the Idaho Statesman. In her guest opinion, Erwin shared: “…I am absolutely horrified at the kinds of conversations I have had to have with Hispanic families lately who are panicking about ICE enforcement, whether they are U.S. citizens or not” and goes on to asks: “Who have we become?”

But I think other than that, to be quite honest, probably no one... My husband knows certain things, but I also am a very proud person like my father. I’ve learned not to share all of these things. I haven’t cried about that experience since I saw my dad, and I probably won’t cry about it ever again. So, no. I try to keep the more deep things to myself, which is not healthy, but I do ... How do I think it affects me? Firstly, through depression and anxiety. I don’t allow myself. I don’t allow people to see the most vulnerable parts of me. I don’t want to, and I am sure that affects me in many ways. I guess it manifests more through my anxiety and depression the most. And my ability to form strong relationships with people. I feel like I have issues with that

“I wouldn’t want to talk to a therapist like nah ‘cause sometimes they have to report things, sometimes by law they have to report things, whether it’s a child abuser and I’m not sure if immigration is in that category but yeah. That’s one thing I’m careful of.” -L.P, a 23-year-old U.S.-born citizen, New Jersey

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker continues to fight back against Trump, ICE, and the National Guard deployment in Chicago and Illinois. Pritzker spoke with MSNBC Senior Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff in Chicago, where he responded to the president's call for him to be jailed, saying Trump is "breaching the Constitution."

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was directing the National Guard to deploy to Portland, Oregon to protect federal immigration facilities against "domestic terrorists,” saying he was authorizing them to use "full force, if necessary.”

"Two agents chased one guy down our neighborhood street with guns drawn," Bobby Fisher, the homeowner shared. "This is a home they surrounded with guns. I have children."

Agents knocked down ladders trapping workers on roof, at least one was seriously injured after jumping off. "All workers were rounded up and just taken away indiscriminately - there was no checking." The ICE raid occurred in the Naperville suburb of Chicago, Illinois.

“They are seizing people using firearms, physical violence, and warehouse detentions. Nor are undocumented immigrants the only ones harmed by the Government’s conduct,” Sotomayor said. “United States citizens are also being seized, taken from their jobs, and prevented from working to support themselves and their families.”

In early September, masked federal agents, some wearing "ICE" badges, arrested people in Chicago, calls for internal investigations have begun..

Several thousand demonstrators marched past Trump Tower in downtown Chicago on Saturday evening, September 6, 2025, protesting President Donald Trump’s threats to send ICE agents and the National Guard to the city. The protest drew about 3,000 people, many hoisting handmade signs, pictures and flags that showed support for Mexican Independence Day.

"I'm here for my father. It's not criminals being taken off the street. It's families being ripped apart." -Tracy Quinonez, whose father recently died and came to the U.S. from Guatemala as a refugee

I hold dual citizenship in the United States and Brazil, with valid passports from both countries. My mother is 90 years old, sick, and lives in São Paulo, Brazil. I would love to go and see her, and help take care of her. However, even though I am an American citizen who has lived in this country for over twenty years, I am not going to go. I have too much fear that I will not be allowed back in the United States. My family, who is with my mother, is also telling me not to risk coming to see her. I am terribly upset and fear I will never see my mother again