February 2026
By Isaiah Washington, News Editor
Deportation is something that’s been noticed more recently now than ever since Donald Trump started deporting people who are in the U.S. illegally. However, there have been cases where innocent people have been deported without a second thought. It’s because of a lack of due process within the immigration system, where individuals can be targeted for administrative violations, mistaken identities, or even based on potentially incorrect assumptions by authorities. It’s unfortunate because the lack of attention to detail of double checking identities and records causes innocent people to be deported, this not only affects the people being accused on false pretenses, but also the families of those people due to the fact that they may never see them again.
It’s sad because the wrongful deportation of a family member, including U.S. citizens and legal residents, shatters trust in legal systems and creates trauma or fear for the future for those who are being directly affected. This has led to protests of outraged families and communities against the deportation system because of unlawful raids and arrests, which have heightened community fear and stress particularly in areas with large immigrant populations. It also seems that even though Donald Trump’s administration isn’t explicitly targeting any specific race for deportation, enforcement actions disproportionately affect non-white immigrants, particularly those who are Hispanic or Black.
The Department of Homeland Security says that people are being deported due to criminal records or national security threats, but most deported individuals aren’t actually considered national security threats. According to a recent report by CBS News, the majority of people deported and detained for criminal activity only have relatively minor offenses, or have no criminal record at all. This makes it feels as though they actually focus more on people who are trying to build lives in the U.S., focusing significant resources on removing recent border arrivals and others who violate immigration law, leading to a large number of deportations for non-criminal or low level offenses.
Some immigrants who have been deported have been detained by I.C.E., to ensure they appear for immigration proceedings or removal from the U.S., to enforce mandatory detention laws, or because they are deemed a public safety or flight risk. However, as I stated previously most aren’t even an actual public safety risk, which makes you wonder if they are just using that as an excuse to have a lawful reason for deporting people who don’t deserve the punishment. It’s unfortunate that systems intended to process immigration have loopholes, data errors, and inconsistent training, leading to misidentification of U.S. citizens as non-citizens and the wrongful detention or deportation of individuals with no criminal record. The fatal flaw that the deportation system has is that it prioritizes enforcement and removal over due process, this enforcement-first approach creates a system with several compounding problems, including a lack of legal representation, immense court backlogs, and destabilizing effects on families and communities.
Due to all these negative impacts of this flawed deportation system, I believe that it should be stopped. The cons outweigh the pros because it has severe negative effects on not only the family and community of those being affected, but also the U.S. economy as a whole. Mass deportations are inflicting damage on the U.S. economy by creating labor shortages in certain areas. Deportations can destabilize communities, which can lead to new pressures and are often a result of the system lacking common sense and proper legal protections. It needs to be stopped to protect fundamental human rights, such as the right to asylum and due process, and to prevent the separation of families, which can lead to immense social and economic hardship for U.S. citizens.
Being deported and detained is honestly cruel due to being treated as a severe criminal when all you want to do is live your life, it’s unjust and should be put to a stop. Deportation has been around since the 18th century, but the way Donald Trump is using it is like an abuse of power to try and rid the country of non-white citizens. Donald Trump has honestly done more harm than good as president, and his version of a golden age is him being on top while the world around him burns.
NOTE: This commentary is part of a reported series on the current detention and deportation system. Please see Part 2, an interview with the family of an individual who faced deportation, as well as an investigation into their current lives.
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