By Felicia J. Persaud
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Sat. Aug. 9, 2025: When Ph.D. student Will Kim returned from his brother’s wedding in South Korea, he expected a quiet reentry into the U.S. Instead, he was greeted at San Francisco International Airport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE) agents.
Kim, a legal permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. since he was five and is currently working on a Lyme disease vaccine, was detained. His alleged offense? A sealed 2011 misdemeanor marijuana charge, resolved with community service. His reality? Detention, fear, and a jarring reminder that in Trump’s America, even lawful immigrants are vulnerable.
Kim’s case is not isolated. From green card holders to DACA recipients, legal status is no longer a shield. Under the second Trump administration, it has become a revocable technicality – shaped by fear-driven policy, racial profiling, and political spectacle.
Take Kasper Eriksen, a 31-year-old Danish national who has lived in the U.S. for over a decade. While attending a routine naturalization appointment in Mississippi, ICE agents detained him – despite no criminal record. The father of four was transferred to the LaSalle Detention Center in Louisiana and held for months, according to Newsweek. His wife, Savannah Hobart Eriksen, was left in the dark as his case languished.
Or consider Go Yeon-soo, a 20-year-old Purdue University student and daughter of an Episcopal priest. Go entered the U.S. on a valid R-2 visa in 2021 and had her stay legally extended through 2025. Yet after attending a routine court hearing about her status, she was detained. The Episcopal Diocese of New York and multiple advocacy groups are now calling for her immediate release, arguing ICE bypassed legal procedures and wrongly interpreted her immigration status.
Esther Ngoy Tekele, 24, from Vermont, was detained by ICE after returning from a wedding in Canada, her family reported. And Junior Dioses, a green card holder living in the U.S. for two decades, was detained for 48 days after returning from a trip to Peru in April. He told KSL News: “When I was there, I kept thinking every day, ‘Why am I here?’”
The answer may lie in ICE’s reported daily detention quotas. Immigration enforcement has turned into inventory management – counting human beings like units in a warehouse. It’s not enforcement; it’s a performance.
Legal status today is not a guarantee of protection – it’s a potential liability.
And even citizenship doesn’t guarantee immunity. A Puerto Rican Army veteran was detained for “looking Hispanic.” A U.S. citizen in Chicago was held for hours despite presenting valid ID. Native Americans and Spanish-speaking citizens have reported wrongful detentions with little recourse or accountability. This isn’t about border control. It’s about optics, race and unchecked power.
According to TRAC immigration data, 56,945 people were in ICE custody as of July 27, 2025. Of those, a staggering 71.1% – over 40,000 detainees – had no criminal conviction. Only 1.49% of new FY2025 cases involved deportation requests based on alleged criminal activity, apart from illegal entry.
Meanwhile, fear is rippling through immigrant communities. In Florida and Tennessee, families are self-deporting, leaving homes and even pets behind. In California, undocumented renters avoid asserting legal rights, afraid of exposure. This isn’t just about immigration – it’s psychological warfare.
The message is clear: legal status won’t save you. In today’s America, the system no longer distinguishes between threat and presence, paperwork and punishment. It sees only bodies to detain, deport or disappear.
Felicia J. Persaud is the founder and publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, the only daily newswire and digital platform dedicated exclusively to Caribbean Diaspora and Black immigrant news across the Americas.
Discussion about this post