Trump’s ICE Raids Target Working-Class Immigrants, Not Criminals

Editor’s Note | This report is part of MintPress News’ on-the-ground coverage of escalating ICE operations under the Trump administration. Reporter Jalyssa Dugrot spent several days embedded in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood, speaking directly with undocumented immigrants, day laborers, and organizers impacted by the raids. As ICE operations intensify across the country, Dugrot’s reporting exposes how immigration enforcement is being used as a pretext for expanding government surveillance and police power.

Following Donald Trump’s pledge to detain 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have surged across the United States. California, home to an estimated 2.8 million undocumented immigrants as of 2023. has emerged as a primary target.

Department of Homeland Security official Kristi Noem traveled to Los Angeles for a press conference, declaring the government’s intent to “bring in criminals that have been out on our street far too long.” But data tells a different story.

According to ICE datasets analyzed by the Los Angeles Times, during the first 10 days of June, ICE arrested 722 undocumented immigrants in California. Of those, 70% had never been convicted of a crime. The trend undermines claims that the raids are targeting “the worst of the worst.”

Instead, the arrests disproportionately affect working-class immigrants with no criminal records. Among them is the father of a U.S. Marine, who was beaten and detained at his landscaping job. In another case, a Marine’s wife, Paola, who arrived in the U.S. as a child seeking asylum, was arrested during an immigration appointment.

These are not hardened criminals. They are street vendors, day laborers, and families struggling to make ends meet. In Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood, many undocumented immigrants now face a dire choice: stay home to avoid arrest or risk their freedom to put food on the table.

Organizers with Ktown For All, a grassroots group providing direct aid, say they’re using donations to pay rent, bills, and medical costs for immigrant families forced into hiding. “We’ve had people ask, ‘Why are they still out there when they know it’s dangerous?’ And the answer is simple: rent,” said Andreina, an organizer with the group. “If we could solve that, these families could stay home.”

Federico, an elote vendor, was preparing to go into hiding when he spoke to MintPress News. Still, he kept returning to the same street corner because it’s the only way to pay rent and support his family back home. Since the raids began, his business has dropped by around 80%, he said.

Despite ICE’s claims, Los Angeles is seeing a crackdown not on dangerous criminals, but on workers trimming hedges, selling corn, or sitting in immigration waiting rooms.

For now, communities like Koreatown rely on grassroots solidarity to resist a federal crackdown that criminalizes survival. But as raids intensify, donations alone won’t be enough to protect the most vulnerable.

Feature photo | Margarita Flores, mother of Andrea Velez, 32, a U.S. citizen of South L.A, pictured on her current U.S. passport, is joined by her younger, daughter, Estrella Rosas, 17, left, looking for her location after ICE agents detained Andrea Velez during an immigration raid in downtown, outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, June 25, 2025. Damian Dovarganes | AP

Jalyssa Dugrot is an independent journalist based in Tampa, Florida, covering Middle East conflicts, U.S. domestic politics, and the impact of Western intervention and media distortion. Follow her on Instagram: @JalyssaDugrot and  X: @Jalyssaspeaking.

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