The year is off to a horrific start as Donald Trump’s presidency continues. Whether all Americans pay attention or not, the events that have unfolded since Jan. 20, 2025, are nothing short of a nightmare. The most severe of the ongoing changes due to Trump’s presidency has been the unrelenting attack on immigrants across this country, as ICE has continued to attack Americans across the board.
It was horrific enough watching videos of ICE driving around cities in the US in unmarked vehicles and grabbing innocent people off the street. Seeing this happen felt bleak, like the power that had always lain in the hands of the people was being stripped from us in real time.
And here we are now, nine people are dead this year at the hands of ICE, and 2026 is barely one month in.
Keith Porter, Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, Víctor Manuel Díaz, Parady La, Renee Nicole Good, Luis Beltrán Yáñez–Cruz, Heber Sánchez Domínguez and Alex Pretti. All of their names deserve to be mentioned, and there is no reality where any of them deserved to be killed by a government that is meant to protect them. The Department of Homeland Security wants you to believe these people should be demonized, that they are outside agitators trying to cause a scene, or that they are domestic terrorists interfering with the law. In reality, domestic terrorism can be found in a group of balaclava-wearing wimps driving around, grabbing people off the sidewalk, and killing people who “threaten” them.
ICE has been compared to the Gestapo, but the severity goes beyond that when taking into account the erosion of our government’s checks and balances. The people in these positions are untrained, power-hungry maniacs, unfairly given an unlimited budget to be judge, jury, and executioner to the American people. Their violence has shown the American people the truth: Donald Trump does not care about you.
So what do we, the people, do? Keep the pressure up. Do not give these people the space to feel like they are in control. The fight for assured safety is not over until ICE is out of every city across the country, and our neighborhoods, schools, and public spaces are safe for all once again. Just because the government is backpedaling, trying to make nice with Minnesota, does not mean we stop.
Keeping each other safe is an important way to protect our communities. Continuing to document ICE and their brutality will bring attention to who these people are, as well as the harm they are doing. Citizen journalism, which is as simple as just recording ICE and posting it to your community, is integral to this movement and holding our government accountable. They can try to jail journalists and punish people who film ICE, because we are always stronger in numbers.
This letter is to say that I, as well as the rest of the University Times Editorial Board, stand firmly not just with the people of Minnesota who are being unfairly terrorized, but with those who are brave enough to peacefully stand up to an authoritarian government.
