The disruption and terror produced by ICE agents have spread rapidly across the United States, having devastating impacts on big cities and small towns alike. In Leominster, Massachusetts — a town with generations of families, many being of Hispanic origin — video recordings taken earlier this year show ICE agents holding an autistic five-year-old girl hostage outside of her own home to get her parents to come outside so the agents could arrest her father. The Leominster family had been living in the town for more than 20 years prior to this incident.

This is only one of many cases where ICE agents have abused their position of power to racially profile and arrest people of color. Americans have seen videos of an ICE agent shooting a protestor in the face with a rubber bullet, leaving him permanently blind. Others show federal agents smashing car windows, threatening civilians, and harming those who try to record public interactions with ICE. Through social media posts and news outlets, Americans watch the violence of federal agents, faced with the dilemma of democratic erosion.

The blatant disregard of constitutional rights, such as what we have seen in the newly released DHS policy memo, where approval was given to ICE and CBP agents to enter homes without a signed judicial warrant, has left many citizens to ponder how such a thing could happen to a country that prides itself on its democracy. Nancy Bermeo, author of “On Democratic Backsliding” (2016), describes the process of institutional changes that weaken the checks on executive powers as executive aggrandizement.

During Trump’s second term as U.S. President, citizens have seen abnormal amounts of executive aggrandizement. In the first year of his second term alone, the president signed 225 executive orders that changed policy or executive functioning in some way. Quite a few of these executive orders — such as EO 14159 and EO 14165— have authorized ICE to broaden and increase their power under federal law, leading to the violations we are seeing today.

These violations of constitutional rights and the blatant disregard of individual rights have only made more obvious the plight of U.S. democratic erosion. According to Bermeo (2016), the expansion of executive power, combined with a lapse in checks and balances, is one of the factors that contribute to democratic backsliding. Americans have recognized these patterns themselves, leading to protest movements such as the “No Kings” rallies.

In the words of Robert Dahl (1998), “democracy can be a bit… chancy.” The United States, while still in its infancy compared to other nations, is a good example of the unpredictable nature of democracy. Donald Trump was elected during fair and free elections (as many recent autocrats have been), but his executive power has extended far beyond what many citizens had expected.

But there are glimmers of hope. Citizens of Minneapolis are protesting daily, with videos showing special protestors trained in first aid and emergency response. Some Massachusetts universities and schools have provided “Know Your Rights” pamphlets to encourage students to remain educated. The Immigrant Justice Network has introduced the LUCE Defense Hotline, a telephone service that allows bystanders to report the presence of CBP and ICE agents within the state of Massachusetts. The operator will then dispatch trained volunteers to the area to help deescalate potentially violent encounters, while also protecting the rights of citizens and immigrants alike. Many of these hotlines exist in other states as well. Within the last two months, millions of Americans have made calls to their representatives in Congress, demanding that officials do not further support the funding of DHS or its subsidiaries. If citizens continue to make their voices heard, they may sway the opinions of their legislators, who are meant to represent the people.

Works Cited:

Lavietes, M. (2025, September 23) Video shows ICE with 5-year-old girl while agents attempt to arrest her father. NBC News. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-held-5-year-old-autistic-girl-massachusetts-pressure-father-surren-rcna233146

Louisiana, G. (2025, December 29) Detention offer admits to sexually abusing detainee at ICE facility. FOX 12. Available at: https://www.kptv.com/2025/12/29/detention-officer-admits-sexually-abusing-detainee-ice-facility/

Santana, R. (2026, January 21) Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, memo says. AP News. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2dL

Bermeo, N. (2016, January 27) On Democratic Backsliding. Journal of Democracy, Johns Hopkins University. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2016.0012

(No date) 2025 Donald J. Trump Executive Orders. Federal Register. Available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025

(2025, January 20) Protecting the American People Against Invasion. Federal Register. Available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/29/2025-02006/protecting-the-american-people-against-invasion

(2025, January 20) Securing Our Borders. Federal Register. Available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/30/2025-02015/securing-our-borders

(No date) LUCE Defense Hotline. Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts. Available at: https://www.lucemass.org

Dahl, R. (1998) On Democracy, Second Edition. Yale University Press.