Since the Trump administration took office in January 2025, the actions of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have been the subject of international headlines. Much of this increased attention comes from the practices of ICE in major cities like Portland, Los Angeles and most recently, Minneapolis. The scope of recent ICE raids raises many questions about what would happen if similar events occurred closer to home.
And for Iowa City residents, it has. While not reaching the extremes witnessed in Minneapolis, ICE has shown up in Iowa City and committed inhumane acts. Jorge González Ochoa, a U.S. citizen and a 28-year-old from Colombia, was charged with unlawful use of a Social Security number and immigration documents. ICE officials claimed he was working under a false name and using fraudulent documents to maintain his job at the Bread Garden, where agents ultimately arrested him Sept. 25. González Ochoa was wrongfully held in the Muscatine County Jail for over nine weeks before he eventually won the lawsuit for his release Jan. 9.
The tension between the general public and ICE continues to grow as more incidents like these occur. In January, a Hampton Inn in Minneapolis denied service to ICE agents, a move that was followed by Hilton dropping the hotel from their system. Businesses that take a stance on ICE reflect a broader divide between the federal government and the public.
For West High students, it’s important to know the protocol if ICE shows up on campus. Iowa City Community School District faculty are instructed to respond to ICE in the same manner as any other law enforcement officers: request credentials, ask for a warrant and contact district administration. Front office staff have been trained to know what to do if ICE agents show up, and ICE agents would only be allowed to enter the building under the direction of the principal.
It’s also important to understand why ICE has become such a focal issue today. Since its formation in 2003, the agency hasn’t had the opportunity to commit the atrocities we see now. What accounts for this escalation?
The primary issue with ICE is that its entire purpose has fundamentally changed. It was supposed to target problematic individuals inside the United States, specifically felons, and address transnational crime, including drug trafficking. Last January, 6% of immigrants deported by ICE had no criminal convictions or charges; this year, under the Trump administration, 44% of deported immigrants had no criminal convictions or charges. While ideally there should be a limitation of illegal immigrants, if they aren’t dangerous, we should be focusing resources on different objectives. It’s a waste.
Funding is another point of contention. Under recent budget legislation, ICE now has more funding than any other federal law enforcement agency — far outstripping even the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Its annual budget has ballooned from less than $6 billion a decade ago to roughly $85 billion today during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term. ICE has absolutely no reason to have more funding agencies like the FBI, which has a budget of roughly $7 billion, and who actually targets individuals who threaten the safety of American citizens. Generally speaking, the funding is for more agents. ICE has reported that it more than doubled its number of officers from about 10,000 to 22,000 in the last year. Due to the decrease in employment prerequisites, ICE’s employment rate has skyrocketed, leaving many of its workers unqualified for their roles. The “Join ICE ad” on YouTube shows how far they’ve truly gone to hire people.
ICE is also undertrained. The reality is, current ICE agents receive relatively little training compared to police officers and other first responders. ICE runs on a 13-18 week education program before sending recruits straight into field work with relatively little oversight. By contrast, Iowa police undergo 16 weeks of academy training followed by 16 weeks of field practice monitored by a veteran officer. There have already been six deaths tied to ICE in 2026, likely a result of this undertraining.
Most importantly, ICE is not doing what it’s designed to do. Jonathan Ross, who was charged with the murder of Renée Good, was a 10-year ICE veteran. He was only trained 10 years ago to do a job where the details have changed under a new administration; meanwhile, police officers have yearly in-service training, which is a form of retraining. He wasn’t trained to deal with protesters inside the United states. Additionally, ICE only has legal jurisdiction to deport non-citizens, and in the United States, citizens aren’t required to carry proof of citizenship. Do you see the irony here? ICE is only allowed to detain a person if it has reasonable belief that they are “removable,” which is impossible to determine in person.
There are many ways we, as Americans and students, can stop and slow ICE. Attend a protest, call your representatives, speak out — but the most important one is to vote when you’re eligible, and encourage others to do the same. The constitutional power of the people lies in the ballot. It’s very difficult to influence an administration, both locally or nationally, to change their ideals, so the administration itself must change. Civic engagement ensures the government works for us. It should never be us versus the government; it should be our government.
