The New Federal Hunt: ICE’s Ramp-Up and the Consequences for Latino Communities

Dr. Wil Rodriguez
Jun 21
3 min read

By Dr. Wil Rodríguez

“What’s unfolding isn’t enforcement—it’s a federal hunt. And we’re all paying the price.”

The Streets Are Quiet for the Wrong Reasons

In downtown Los Angeles, entire districts have gone silent. Not from peace—but from fear.

The flower markets are empty. The garment district has lost its rhythm. Latino vendors have disappeared overnight, not because they chose to—but because they’re being hunted.

This isn’t just policy.

This isn’t just deportation.

This is a federal hunt.

And the silence surrounding it may be the loudest betrayal of all.

Timeline of Escalation: January to June 2025

• January 23 – Operation Safeguard launches. 538 immigrants arrested across sanctuary cities within 48 hours.

• January 23 – Deportation flights resume using military aircraft. First wave of removals to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.

• March 27 – ICE raids the home of farmworker advocate Alfredo Juárez in Washington State. No charges filed.

• April 15 – Danish-American woman detained at her U.S. citizenship interview in Memphis.

• June 6 – Los Angeles: 44 people detained in coordinated workplace raids. Protests erupt. ICE confirms use of “expedited removal.”

• June 12 – Oregon vineyard manager Moisés Sotelo detained while working. National outrage grows.

• Mid-June – After a 4-day pause due to economic pressure, ICE resumes full-scale raids on agriculture and hospitality industries.

What ICE Has Done—and Is Still Doing

Workplace Raids: Targeting farms, dairies, hotels, and restaurants—critical industries powered by Latino labor.
Use of Wartime Laws: Alien Enemies Act invoked for expedited removals.
Cross-Agency Enforcement: U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security, and even National Guard units deployed.
Mistaken Identity: U.S. citizens, DACA recipients, and legal residents have been detained in the sweep.
Quotas & Pressure: Reports reveal internal ICE goals of 3,000+ arrests per week.

All without congressional approval.

All with minimal media attention.

Why Now? And Why So Quiet?

This operation didn’t emerge overnight.

It’s the product of:

A campaign promise: mass deportation as political currency.
Policy manipulation: executive authority stretched far beyond legal limits.
Extremist influence: figures like Stephen Miller and Tom Homan pushing daily action from behind the scenes.

And still—Congress does nothing.

The courts stall.

The people remain silent.

Where is the leadership?

The Human and Economic Toll

Lives in Fear

Families are avoiding schools, clinics, and even churches.
Legal immigrants skip court dates out of fear.
Children are being left with neighbors and strangers when parents are taken without warning.

Farms Falling Apart

California’s Central Valley has lost nearly 50% of its agricultural workforce in just weeks.
Dairy farmers report cows going unmilked, produce rotting in fields, and export contracts voided.
Small farms are shutting down—not from drought, but from disappearance.

An Economic Powerhouse Under Threat

California is the 4th largest economy in the world.
Its agricultural industry depends overwhelmingly on Latino immigrant labor.
If ICE continues this pace, we’re looking at a collapse in food production, supply chains, and consumer markets.

The Danger of Doing Nothing

This is not just a Latino issue.

This is a national emergency in slow motion:

Food insecurity will rise as harvests are lost.
Labor shortages will spread beyond agriculture into hospitality, construction, and retail.
Legal erosion continues: when ICE ignores due process, the Constitution becomes optional.
Democratic silence will set precedent for future abuses of power.

Today it’s farmworkers.

Tomorrow it may be journalists, organizers, or anyone who “doesn’t fit the system.”

Why Aren’t We Acting?

This is the haunting question.

Where are the protests that once filled the streets?

Where are the sanctuary leaders who stood firm in 2018?

Where are the voices in Congress, the courts, the pulpits?

Has fear paralyzed us?

Or has complicity become easier than courage?

We are watching the dismantling of communities, economies, and civil liberties—in real time.

This Is a Hunt. Let’s Name It. And End It.

Let’s stop calling this “enforcement.”