As the Trump administration intensifies its deportation campaign and deploys federal agents to American cities, a wave of fear and outrage is sweeping across the nation—especially among military veterans and immigrant communities in cities like Chicago and Portland. Reports of aggressive actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the resulting consequences for both protesters and undocumented immigrants have sparked a heated debate about civil rights, government overreach, and what it means to belong in America.
According to The Guardian, some of the most decorated military veterans in Congress are speaking out after revelations that fellow veterans have been arrested or injured during protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Representative Jason Crow, a Democrat from Colorado and a former Army Ranger awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq, didn’t mince words: “I went to war three times for this country to defend the right of Americans to say things I may not like. Now is the time for every American to speak out.”
Senator Tammy Duckworth, another Democrat and a Purple Heart recipient who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq, echoed Crow’s sentiments. “No one—especially those who have already sacrificed so much for this country—should ever be assaulted, detained or thrown in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting government overreach,” Duckworth told The Guardian.
The Guardian’s investigation identified eight cases where veterans were prosecuted or sought damages after being detained by federal agents. Two such cases emerged in late September outside a Chicago-area ICE facility. Dana Briggs, a 70-year-old Air Force veteran, was charged with assault after a video captured ICE agents advancing on him and knocking him over. Another video showed Afghanistan war veteran John Cerrone being tackled by ICE agents, detained, held for nine hours in solitary confinement, and charged with disorderly conduct. Federal authorities claimed Briggs made physical contact with an agent’s arm, while a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson alleged that Cerrone had earlier thrown back a teargas canister fired by ICE.
Senator Duckworth dismissed these justifications, stating, “The Trump administration’s meritless claims justifying the need for such excessive force simply aren’t supported by evidence, and even federal judges are recognizing they are not credible or ‘tethered to facts’.” Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, added, “Any improper use of force by federal law enforcement against Americans, including service members and veterans, undermines our democracy and is a betrayal to our military families who sign up to risk life and limb to protect our nation.”
In Portland, the situation has been no less tense. Video evidence cited by The Guardian shows Afghanistan war veteran Daryn Herzberg being grabbed by the hair and slammed face-first into the ground multiple times by a federal agent. The agent reportedly taunted Herzberg, saying, “You’re not talking shit any more are you?” Herzberg, who has not been charged with a crime, was hospitalized and is now seeking $150,000 in damages. The DHS accused Herzberg of previous acts of violence and faking injuries, but his attorney flatly denied these allegations.
Representative Maxine Dexter, who represents Portland and previously served as a physician at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, called the situation “unjustifiable and excessive.” She noted that on October 4, an 84-year-old demonstrator suffered a concussion after being knocked to the ground by federal agents during what The Oregonian described as a peaceful protest. The woman’s husband, also 84 and a Vietnam War veteran, was pushed to the ground while leaning on his walker and wearing his Vietnam veterans cap. “Military veterans are literally putting their lives on the line to protest,” Dexter observed.
Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon weighed in, emphasizing the broader implications: “Free speech and peaceful protest are fundamental rights in America. Few understand this better than the brave men and women who have given so much to defend these rights and freedoms for all of us. Trump’s goal is to incite violence to further his authoritarian grip and quash our fundamental rights. We must all continue to speak out against his un-American power grab and stand up for one another.” Dexter, for her part, expressed hope that the administration would “lower the temperature” so Americans could debate their differences without violence.
While veterans and their allies protest what they see as government overreach, another group in Chicago is grappling with the impact of aggressive ICE tactics in a more personal way. Manuel Castro, coordinator with Coalicion de Migrantes Mexicanos, told WBEZ that his phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from Chicago-area residents considering returning to Mexico rather than risk being caught in an ICE raid. “They are starting to see the violence where ICE agents are coming to [homes] without warrants, where they break your [car] windows, basically they are terrorizing [people],” Castro said. “They are starting to say this is not OK. I’m done.”
But as Castro explained in his free online workshops, returning to Mexico after years—or even decades—in the United States is far from simple. He advises participants to slow down and make detailed plans, from managing finances to gathering the documents needed to access basic services in Mexico. Repatriation is a bureaucratic maze: parents must prove their relationship to their children to enroll them in school, and everyone must obtain various ID cards to work, access healthcare, pay taxes, or even open a bank account. Castro recommends that parents with American-born children apply for dual citizenship to ease their children’s entry into the Mexican education system. He also urges people to consider selling property or transferring assets to trusted friends or family in Chicago and to create a budget for their savings.
“Talk with your family, talk with your friends, try to make an assessment of how much money you have,” Castro advises. He recalls people telling him, “‘I don’t have anybody over there, and I have just a little bit of savings—$5,000 to $10,000.’” He warns that’s not much, especially for those without a support network in Mexico. “We will explain to them it’s going to be a difficult situation.”
Many of Chicago’s 227,715 Mexican-born residents have built lives in the city despite their immigration status, but according to WBEZ, more Mexicans have been deported from the Midwest this year than any other nationality under Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The fear of abrupt separation from family has led some, like Christian Vázquez, to start planning their return. Vázquez, who has lived in Chicago for 20 years, said the anti-immigrant rhetoric created anxiety for his children. His wife and kids have already returned to Mexico, and he is preparing to follow them soon.
Castro also urges workshop participants to learn about “México te abraza” (“Mexico welcomes you”), a new Mexican government program established in January to help deported and repatriated Mexicans reintegrate, focusing on access to services, economic stability, and social inclusion. Yet, as Vázquez and others have found, the process is often confusing and support from the Mexican government can be hard to access.
As the Trump administration’s policies ripple outward, the effects are being felt not just in courtrooms and city streets, but in the living rooms and hearts of families weighing impossible choices. For many, the decision to protest or to return home is fraught with risk, uncertainty, and the hope that, somehow, their voices will be heard and their rights respected.
