Although ICE and CBP seem to avoid operations styled by retired ex-immigration commander Greg Bovino, Donald Trump's government remains focused on detaining and deporting to immigrants with no criminal history even though Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Markwayne Mullin, says that “we're still going after the worst of the worst.”

The difference, Mullin told CNBC, is now “we’re doing it in a discreet way.”

But they continue to cause harm.

One of the most affected sectors are the “dreamers” who since 2012, with the implementation of Deferred Action for Arrivals in the Childhood (DACA) by the Democratic president, Barack Obama, were protected from deportation and obtained renewable work permits.

Since his first administration, Trump wants to eliminate the program and, in fact, while the case continues its course in courts, new applications are not accepted, although existing permits are renewed.

But the Trump government maintains that DACA does not confer legal status and that, therefore, does not prevent them from being detained and deported, especially if they commit a crime.

Recent developments evidence the precariousness of DACA for its beneficiaries: some 174 were deported between January and September 2025; the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled that Having DACA does not automatically stop a deportation process; and delays in DACA renewal have left many unemployed and without protection from possible detention and deportation.

The case of José Contreras Díaz has been widely reported because he was arrested in full DACA renewal appointment. It was reported that Contreras was brought by his family from Honduras at eight years old. He obtained DACA, but it wasn't until this renewal appointment that the agents stopped him.

Contreras was deported to Honduras, but his lawyer, Stacy Tolchin, argued that the deportation was illegal because his DACA was in force. The government brought him back to Texas, but on arrival, he was arrested and sent to a detention center.

The case of Contreras is not isolated.

According to FWD.us, as of September 2024, about 530,000 “dreamers” had DACA.

“It is estimated that “Dreamers” already contribute each year about $65,000 million dollars to the US economy through their wages , and pay about $18,000 million dollars in federal, payroll, state and local taxes annually,” according to FWD.us.

But many of those “dreamers” are losing their jobs and protections due to delays in DACA renewal. The Associated Press reported that “in late April 2026, USCIS reported that most Most renewal applications were completed in about 122 days…Immigrant organizations state that, lately, some applicants have had to wait six months —about 183 days— or even more.”

The reality is that the Trump administration has focused on delegalizing immigrants and, in fact, detains and deports people protected by various programs, such as asylum seekers, recipients of DACA, TPS and other humanitarian initiatives.

Even U.S. citizens and authorized residents are victims of racial profiling. export 1 million immigrants per year, the Trump government ignores due process of law, the rule of law and the Constitution itself.

In fact, many immigrants are detained when, in compliance with the law, they attend follow-up appointments for their cases at ICE offices or courts. Many deportations are summary without the opportunity for hearings. Those who are detained are exposed to prolonged stays and under deplorable conditions without access to adequate medical care or facing physical violence and abuse.

El País reported that “an investigation by The Washington Post has revealed that, in the first year of Trump's term, in the m In more 780 cases staff in ICE centers used physical force or chemical agents to control detainees.”

The cruelty is such that children are forced to appear alone before immigration judges without legal representation. Like Wilfredo, a 10-year-old Venezuelan boy who ega alone her deportation process to a third country. Wilfredo and his mother have a pending asylum case, but the woman was detained in Texas and the cases were separated.

“The experience was so overwhelming that the child, in panic, lost control of his sphincters and urinated on himself,” reported La Opinión citing Univision.“I was scared because it was my first time in a court,” Wilfredo explained.

Cruelty at its highest expression.