Why Americans Are Scared to Leave Their Homes: Racial Profiling in the U.S.

Most parents worry about their child’s well-being or complain about their reckless spending habits. They ask about their health, tell them to eat three meals a day and hang up the phone after a series of “I miss you’s.” My parents had a markedly different message: pack a whistle in your backpack, always carry your passport card and don’t leave the UChicago campus. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence in Chicago has grown following Trump’s election to a second presidential term in 2024 and the Supreme Court’s decision in Vasquez-Perdomo v. Noem, which effectively legalizes racial profiling by enabling ICE agents to use race and physical appearance as a factor in their processes. A fear of being wrongfully detained has become the reality for many Latinos living in Trump’s America — citizen and non-citizen alike. Leaving our homes carries an inherent risk. But fear is not the solution, and it’s not the future our communities deserve. Resistance to this tyranny starts with showing that we aren’t going anywhere to a government that just wants us to disappear.

The Trump administration continues to emphasize the presence of illegal immigrants in the U.S., and the supposed dangers they pose to American well-being. The administration claims they engage in “hostile activities, including espionage, economic espionage, and preparations for terror-related activities,” citing the presence of groups like the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. 

Admittedly, there are a few legitimate cases of intersection between unauthorized immigrants and criminal activity. But Trump has taken advantage of these select gang members to depict all unauthorized immigrants — and, frankly, all Hispanics — as criminals and thugs leeching off American society. He fans the flames by blaming immigrants for stealing jobs from American citizens and feeding off public welfare services like Social Security. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially began its attack on unauthorized immigrants in June, when it sent ICE agents to Los Angeles for a five-day enforcement operation, taking 161 foreign nationals into custody. Though DHS framed the operation as a means to protect U.S. citizens from potentially dangerous criminals, ICE agents turned violent and began targeting the civilian population instead. 

ICE attacks have targeted Home Depot parking lots and Latino neighborhoods rather than the vicious gangs from which they claim to be protecting U.S. citizens. Their targets aren’t violent thugs; they’re families — desperate immigrants working to build new lives for themselves. Home Depot parking lots and car washes are not the places to find violent illegal gang members. 

I know that. And so do they. But ICE continues to scour civilian areas. 

In recent years, ICE has broadened its scope both with regard to location and the types of civilians it targets. Schools and hospitals were previously considered safe spaces, until ICE altered its policies. In an interview with The Gate, Nicole Hallet, a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School and the Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, spoke about the escalation of the ICE raids in Chicago and their constitutionality. Hallet stated:

“I would say that the scope of immigration enforcement has gotten broader in Chicago since January, but I also think that the kinds of people who have been targeted have been vastly expanded.”

ICE has shifted its attention from a specialized interest in criminal immigrants to all unauthorized immigrants. In practice, that has made all Latinos potential targets for the agency. The Supreme Court has backed ICE and the Trump administration in their use of race as a factor in targeting individuals. The Supreme Court’s decision in Vasquez-Perdomo v. Noem enabled ICE agents to legally racially profile individuals as a part of their regular procedure. As Justice Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion argues, “The Government, and now the concurrence, has all but declared that all Latinos, U.S. citizens or not, who work low wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time.” 

The Court stayed the lower court’s decision, which had deemed it impermissible for immigration officers to arrest someone on the basis of race. A concurring opinion from Justice Kavanaugh reasoned that, while race can’t be the only reason for an officer to target someone, it can be a factor in why ICE might target individuals. The administration interpreted this decision as a full-throated endorsement to walk down any street and stop any Latino for any reason whatsoever. 

As Professor Hallet put it, “Walking down the street is a risk for anyone who’s not white, essentially. That cannot be constitutional, that being not white opens you up to arrest, police brutality and forced disappearance.” 

In July, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that ICE and Border Patrol Agents would receive a $10,000 signing bonus for the next four years as part of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which allocated $165 billion in appropriations for the agency. The administration has made its position on immigration abundantly clear, labeling enforcement as a top issue. It seems inevitable that the Trump administration will continue to target people of color and immigrants living in the U.S. 

Additionally, Vasquez-Perdomo stands in stark contrast to Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a Supreme Court case which ended race-based admissions. Effectively, SCOTUS has both ruled that race cannot be used as a factor when it might benefit a person of color navigating the college admissions process, and that it can be used by ICE when targeting civilian detainees. The Court’s hypocrisy cannot be overlooked: why is race only a factor when it disadvantages people of color? 

The Trump administration has made an ICE crackdown a top issue, and courts will not save us — SCOTUS has made that clear. So the fight falls to the people. The answer to these hateful policies: collective action. Chicago is becoming a living, breathing example of this. 

There, ICE has been met with a shocking counter-force. Whether it’s white suburban women yelling at ICE officers on the streets, the swarms of individuals who participated in the No Kings protest in October or overwhelming support for Latino businesses, Chicago has shown up for its people of color and managed to impede ICE’s tyrannical proceedings. 

As Professor Hallet sees it, “Their goal was 3,000 people a day, and they managed to arrest 3000 people over two months. Part of the reason for that is because the community is fighting back.”

Civil action starts by showing up for our communities. As people of color, resistance can be as simple as not being afraid to move freely throughout our own country. Showing up despite a government that wants us to disappear is its own kind of resistance. 

Beyond that, it is imperative that privileged individuals — especially white citizens unlikely to be targeted by ICE — support their fellow Americans. Whereas a Latino protestor may face deportation or unlawful detention, a white suburban woman is far less likely to be targeted, and should use her privilege to advocate for a better America. 

Luckily, America is fighting back, and it starts with showing up to the ballot box, supporting businesses owned by people of color and telling ICE exactly what they don’t want to hear: we are not afraid.

The image featured in this article is licensed under the Public Domain Mark. The photo was originally taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an official capacity and can be found here.