With an average of 20,000 sports per month—fewer than a thousand per day—these are the victims of U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration raids. A goal of 3,000 deportations per day still seems distant.
Raids in Los Angeles by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have altered the rhythm of a city long considered a sanctuary for people without residency permits or citizenship. In recent days, at least 61 Mexicans have been detained in California. The deep connection between migration and the city’s history has led hundreds to take to the streets in defense of migrants, met by a militarized response from the Trump administration.
The tycoon’s second presidency has made the arrest, detention, and deportation of migrants a central policy focus. In the first 100 days alone, 65,682 people were deported—most labeled as criminals, though often without trial. This figure surpasses the total number of deportations during the entire 2021 fiscal year (which runs from the previous October through September), although it remains lower than the number recorded in the final months of Joe Biden’s term.
Compared to previous years, arrests in the first three months of Trump’s current term account for more than half the number recorded in all of 2024, when just over 113,000 individuals were detained by immigration authorities. These arrests involve alleged violations of civil, not criminal, law. According to ICE’s historical data, Mexican nationals have consistently been the most frequently arrested and detained group in the U.S.—a trend largely shaped by the geographic proximity and strong economic ties between the two countries.
