Compassion Over Fear: On ICE in NYC
“America seems to stand less for freedom and more for persecution. If the United States truly believes in freedom and opportunity, it should reflect those ideals, not with words, but with actions.”
At 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, hundreds of immigrants line up every single week believing they are taking a step toward their own safety and stability. They come with documents, and hope, only to walk into a system that too often turns on them instead of working in their favor. Many arrive believing they are there for an appointment or check in, but lately, they have found themselves detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE. This building, meant to give fairness and progress, has become a place where hope and fear collide.
The fear that now surrounds 26 Federal Plaza extends far beyond its doors. All across New York City, families live in quiet anxiety, wondering if a knock at the door or an appointment will lead to separation. And honestly this issue isn’t only in New York City, or even New York state. Families across all of America are getting separated. Parents are getting slammed to the floor in front of kids, and children are being held to lure out parents, and this is very disgusting. When immigrants feel unsafe seeking help from the government, the entire community suffers. Parents hesitate to apply for jobs or try to renew documents, and children go to school afraid that their parents might not be home when they come back. The trust in the government, which was already fragile, now continues to erode. That, perhaps, is the real threat. It is as if we are heading toward a free-for-all.
Behind all these arrests are real people with stories. Real people who come here to get a better life for their family. Real people who help the community and work hard. Real people who are not criminals. Families have been torn apart with no warning. Children have come home from school to find their parents gone, belongings packed,their lives suddenly changed.
In one documented case, a mother finished her fourth hearing since 2023. She, a 34 year old woman, and her husband had migrated from Ecuador with her two older sons in 2022, where both parents worked at a factory. The mother had been seeking asylum, claiming she fled a gang that wanted to kill her. Her family would be in grave danger if deported, so the judge set her next hearing for September 2026, but things went off the rails quickly.
A masked female agent moved between the husband and wife, while the second agent pinned the women against the wall. The mother cried for help and the second agent told her in Spanish they needed to speak in private, away from all the cameras there. She begged them, saying they would kill her son. Observers shouted to let her kiss her baby. However, the agents ignored the cries and pushed the mother toward a stairwell away from the courtroom. And from there, she was taken to a holding cell, from which she was later transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. All she could do was wait to be deported. This case disgusted me, as it should you, because it involved a family that came to America for their own safety, seeking citizenship through a legal process. But because of ICE’s immoral tactics, another family was torn apart and put into potential danger.
Cases like these are inflicting fear beyond just the courthouse, extending that fear into public spaces across the city, to workplaces and even schools. And some immigrant families remain cautious at all ]times. Studies show that students affected by ICE operations suffer from anxiety, lack of focus, and even depression, which I find very heartbreaking. No child should have to go through this. ICE’s actions cause a sense of distrust in the government and institutions that are supposedly meant to protect people. Many immigrants have started to avoid hospitals, skip court hearings or check ups, and even refuse to report crimes because they are so afraid that any of these moments can lead to deportation. And local businesses lose hard workers, schools lose involved parents, and communities lose the structure they built over the many years.
Supporters of ICE argue that it's essential for national security, but the outcome shows otherwise. Instead of ICE focusing on dangerous offenders, ICE has detained thousands whose only “crime” is trying to seek a better life for themself and their family. Many arrests usually occur during routine check ins or workplace raids, which target immigrants with no criminal history. While ICE isn’t new, deportations on this scale haven’t been seen in a long time and this honestly doesn't create safety but distrust.
There is most likely an alternative that sides with compassion over fear. Legal assistance, supervision programs, and fair hearing processes will greatly reduce unnecessary detention and keep families together. These approaches will improve trust between immigrants and authorities, and uphold the values America claims to stand for. At the moment it’s the complete opposite, and America seems to stand less for freedom and more for persecution. If the United States truly believes in freedom and opportunity, it should reflect those ideals, not with words, but with actions. Immigrants were essential to the past freedom-demanding revolutions of the United States, and they should be treated with more humanity instead of as someone inferior.
