Trump's mass deportations are impossible without racial profiling

ICE has increased street arrests in the New York metropolitan area, with court records and local reporting showing disproportionate targeting of Latino neighborhoods. Between October 2025 and mid-March, 430 street arrests were identified, and 93 percent involved Latinos while Latinos represent 66 percent of the local undocumented population. Many people arrested were not the intended targets; agents reportedly detained individuals while searching for others and claimed the detained people resembled the person they were seeking. Enforcement appears to expand into cities without prior high-profile raids, and agents are described as having broad discretion to arrest based on perceived similarity and skin color. After backlash to Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, ICE shifted to “smarter” or “targeted” enforcement, but arrests still occurred beyond the stated targets.

"The City found 430 street arrests in the metropolitan area between October 2025 and mid-March. Of these, 93 percent involved Latinos, even though they only make up 66 percent of the local undocumented population. More telling: Many of those arrested weren't the intended targets at all. Agents grabbed them while looking for other people, according to court records, and detained them because they supposedly looked sort of like the person they were after."

"Border security czar Tom Homan keeps threatening to “flood” New York City with ICE agents. But a new investigation shows that ICE has been quietly ramping up arrests in the New York area already—and disproportionately targeting Latino neighborhoods. ICE is ramping up enforcement in cities where there haven't been reports of high-profile raids—and agents seemingly have carte blanche to arrest people based on the color of their skin."

"After widespread backlash to ICE's Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, where a federal judge recently ruled that agents made warrantless arrests largely based on race, Homan said ICE is now using “smarter enforcement” in the Twin Cities and elsewhere. ICE has reportedly shifted to “targeted” arrests—but The City’s reporting shows that agents will eagerly arrest anyone they come across while looking for their targets."

Read at The Verge