Federal agents detained two men working on a property in Chicago's Edison Park neighbourhood on 31 October 2025, an incident captured in a photograph by Jamie Kelter Davis for Getty Images. This scene is becoming emblematic of a broader national trend under the latest immigration crackdowns initiated by the Trump administration.
Widespread Reports of Targeting and a Landmark Lawsuit
Across the United States, people of colour, including US citizens and permanent residents, are increasingly reporting that they have been racially profiled by officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Communities are being singled out based on their race, language, or simply their location.
The situation is particularly acute in the Minneapolis area, where a significant force of approximately 2,000 ICE officers and 800 Customs and Border Protection agents has been deployed. In recent weeks, federal agents have focused their operations on Latino and Somali communities there.
On 15 January, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other attorneys escalated the conflict by filing a federal class action lawsuit against the Trump administration. The lawsuit alleges systematic racial profiling and unlawful arrests, citing the cases of three Minnesotans and others. One plaintiff, a US citizen, states he was stopped by masked ICE agents while walking to lunch. In a separate Minneapolis incident, ICE officers approached people of colour charging their electric vehicles and demanded proof of their legal status in the US.
Life Under Scrutiny: Changed Behaviours and Lived Fear
The pervasive fear of being questioned or detained has led many people of colour to alter their daily routines fundamentally. Some individuals now take extraordinary precautions, such as:
- Sleeping with their passports nearby.
- Carrying their birth certificates for routine trips to the grocery store.
These behavioural changes underscore the climate of anxiety and intimidation affecting lawful residents and citizens who feel targeted solely because of their appearance or ethnicity.
Call for Experiences from Those Affected
The Guardian is seeking to hear from US citizens or permanent residents of colour from any part of the country who believe they have been recently targeted by immigration agents due to their race. Individuals over 18 are encouraged to share their experiences, with the option to remain anonymous, to help document the scope and impact of these practices.
Responses are secure, encrypted, and accessible only to the Guardian's editorial team. Personal data provided will be used solely for this feature and will be deleted when it is no longer required for this purpose.
