Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken the spotlight over the last year for its nationwide, aggressive immigration enforcement policy. One of the many promises made by Donald Trump for his second term would have the United States undergo “the largest mass deportation program in history.” With plans to deport the majority of the 11.7 million and 15.4 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States. ICE has had a growing presence in communities across the United States. Most recently, ICE raids have been increasing across Pennsylvania, with recent reports showing that more local police are cooperating with ICE. At the same time, ICE may not have as noticeable a presence in State College as in other big cities like Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, but the presence of its officers in the community is not practical for the safety of the residents.
“I think that [the rise of ICE] is particularly dangerous here because of the large population of international students that come into Penn State. There’s the threat of ICE targeting them,” senior Adrianne Costello said.
Despite increased assistance from police departments in surrounding areas, the State College Police Department (SCPD) still maintains its policy not to assist or engage with ICE activities unless a detainee has committed a crime, which then becomes a matter of enforcing criminal law.
Controversies and Blacklash
The recent increase in ICE’s presence in State College has occurred at a time when ICE has faced several controversies under the Trump Administration. Including the buying of industrial warehouses to hold detainees, raids that have resulted in the death of several unarmed individuals, deporting/imprisoning legal immigrants, and ICE agents masking their faces to keep their identities anonymous. These controversies contributed to the former Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, stepping down from office earlier this year.
“We don’t need ICE here, doing what they’ve been doing to other people here,” sophomore Risi Patel said. “With Renee Goode, she was a normal U.S citizen, and she got killed for no reason. And even with other incidents, they’re just taking people, some are citizens, and they’re taking them to these camps. It’s not good…and it should stop.”
Nationally, the brutality of ICE has drawn away tourists and legal immigrants from coming into the United States. NPR reports that the Trump Administration’s enforcement of immigration has cut legal immigration and tourism into the United States far more than illegal immigration.
“I think this shows the actions of ICE are going way too far,” Patel said. “The Trump Administration is having bad relations with other countries [as a result], but it is not enforcing the goals he said he would before the election.”
Public approval for ICE among Americans has become largely negative, according to a poll from PBS, which shows that nearly 2 out of 3 Americans believe ICE has “gone too far.” With another poll from YouGov. Showing that 50 percent of Americans strongly support the complete abolishment of ICE.
“I believe that having an agency to enforce immigration is necessary, but the way they’re doing it, the way they’re handling things is completely inappropriate,” Costello said. “There’s no reason for people to be so afraid of a government agency stealing them away from their homes just at a moment’s notice.”
The Support Undocumented Immigrants Offer
It is necessary to take action if illegal immigration brings more crime or harm to a community, but this rarely happens across the entire country. Pennsylvania alone had around 250,000 undocumented immigrants residing in it in 2023. An estimated 67 percent of those individuals were employed in the majority of which were minimum wage jobs that supply public convenience, like manufacturing or construction. With a slight majority living in the U.S. for over 20 years. Long enough to start families and become a functioning member of their own community. Nationwide results have shown that illegal immigrants are far less likely to commit crimes than both legal immigrants and United States citizens.
While they are not officially documented, we rely heavily on their contributions to our country; in most cases, they are our neighbors and our friends. More ICE agents in State College may promise security and safety in the community, but their credibility is marred by their indecent behavior that we have seen nationwide in other communities. The vast majority of those who are undocumented in our community are not causing us harm; they are assisting us. And we must do the same for them.
