On July 11, 2025, detainees were being transported via a shuttle bus outside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center detention facility in Adelanto, California. This facility is operated by the private prison firm, GEO Group. This scene came in the wake of President Donald Trump’s senior immigration authorities justifying the practice of forceful detainment methods by federal agents wearing a mask and equipped with weapons.
A few days prior to this, a federal judge had declared that so far, detentions were solely based on racial profiling. Amidst this controversial backdrop, Trump’s ‘border czar’ Tom Homan and Homeland Security’s head, Kristi Noem, publicized the government’s stance. This announcement was brought about following the tragic death of a farm laborer in California, post-sustaining injuries during a raid of a legitimate cannabis plantation.
Just the previous day, District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong demanded a cessation of random patrols aiming to identify unlawful immigrants in Los Angeles. The judge maintained that aspects like race, language, or occupation should not function as a valid ground for suspecting the legitimacy of an individual. According to her, a solely physical descriptor should not dictate the suspicion and subsequent questioning of an individual.
Despite agreeing with the judge’s opinion that detention and questioning shouldn’t be dictated solely by a person’s physical description, Homan noted it as one of the contributing factors for suspicion. He also acknowledged that innocent bystanders might sometimes inadvertently get apprehended during targeted raids. While accepting compliance with the judge’s ruling, Homan stated the administration’s intention to challenge it in the court of appeals.
Secretary Noem dismissed the judge’s verdict as ‘absurd’, criticizing what she perceived as the political nature of the decision. She clarified the administration’s procedure for setting up operations and investigations, emphasizing their basis on case-specific work and individuals identified for their criminal activity.
Amidst a climate of heightened scrutiny, Trump, who had positioned mass deportation of illegal immigrants as a key promise during his election campaign, enacted various measures. The objectives of these actions were to expedite deportations and curtail illegal immigration inflow.
Los Angeles, a so-called sanctuary city home to hundreds of thousands undocumented people, has been a focal point of Trump’s administration since his resumption of power in January. After events of protest and civil disquiet in response to ICE raids the previous month, Trump called on the National Guard and US Marines to subdue the turmoil.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, disagreed with the military presence, deeming it unnecessary in tackling what he considered largely peaceable demonstrations. However, his legal efforts to remove the troops deployed have so far been unsuccessful.
In a controversial move on the preceding Thursday, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out a raid on a cannabis plantation situated in Ventura County, outside Los Angeles. Approximately 200 migrants were taken into detention, sparking violent clashes with protestors.
In the midst of the raid, one laborer, pursued by ICE agents, fell off the roof of a greenhouse, which led to his unfortunate death two days later. The tragedy was deemed regrettable by Homan, who made clear that the man at the time of his fatal accident was not under ICE custody.