Between eleven and fourteen million people live in the United States without legal status, most of them for many years. Donald Trump was elected on a promise to deport them in the largest operation in the country's history. Congress has made the immigration agency, known as ICE, the best funded police force in the federal government. Its agents, often masked, now make arrests in streets, workplaces and courthouses in cities whose governments refuse to help them, and several people have been killed.
The wider conflict and each side's full account: America's conflict over presidential power.
Where it stands · September 2026
The White House withdrew its nominee to lead ICE. An ICE officer pleaded not guilty in the Minneapolis shooting case. ICE expanded immigration enforcement. The United States deported 25,000 people to third countries under agreements it has not published. The Supreme Court allowed the administration to resume third-country deportations. Border and visa rules were tightened.
What the dispute is about
Who is to be removed. The law makes anyone without status deportable. Earlier administrations of both parties concentrated on recent arrivals and on criminals. This one has set daily arrest targets that can only be met among people who have lived and worked in the country for years.
How. Arrests without a judge's warrant, masks, unmarked cars, detention far from family and lawyers, removal to third countries, and for some no hearing. The administration says the law allows each. Courts have allowed some and stopped others.
Who must help. The constitution does not let Washington command state and city police. Many Democratic states and cities refuse to hand over people from their jails. The administration has answered by sending its own agents in force, and in 2025 troops.
