Organizations

ACLU

Advocacy & Legal Aid

Filed multiple lawsuits challenging the crackdown. Released surveillance footage proving ICE lied about Mahmoud Khalil's arrest. Challenged Operation Metro Surge for racial profiling. Filed suit against Operation Return to Sender in Kern County for targeting Latino farmworkers.

Columbia University

Universities

Two Columbia students targeted: Mahmoud Khalil (arrested without warrant, detained 104 days) and Mohsen Mahdawi (arrested at citizenship interview). On February 5, 2026, NYPD made 12 arrests outside Columbia during anti-ICE protests.

Customs and Border Protection

Enforcement Agencies

Deployed thousands of agents to interior cities far beyond traditional border enforcement. CBP agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago, and shot two people in a Portland hospital parking lot. Border troops tripled to ~7,600. A 170-mile border stretch was designated a "military installation," transferring California's border jurisdiction to the Navy.

Department of Homeland Security

Enforcement Agencies

Under Secretary Noem, DHS oversaw the enforcement apparatus. Rescinded sensitive-location protections on January 21, 2025. Declared at least 16 shootings "justified" before investigations completed. Subpoenaed Meta to unmask Instagram accounts identifying a Border Patrol agent. Courthouse arrests and warrantless arrests surged.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Enforcement Agencies

Primary agency executing the mass deportation campaign. Under Todd Lyons and Tom Homan, ICE conducted operations across the country. At least 30 shootings by immigration agents since January 2025, resulting in at least 8 deaths. Arrests of people with no criminal record surged 2,450%. Detention population hit an all-time high of 66,000. ICE's public affairs division was transformed into an "influencer-style media machine" producing cinematic arrest footage for social media. ICE spent $300+ million on social media monitoring, facial recognition, and location tracking.

National Guard

Military

Deployed to multiple American cities. In LA: 700 Marines + ~2,100 Guard. At border: troops tripled to ~7,600 including every military branch. A judge ruled the LA deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act. NPR reported deployments were planned years in advance.

Los Angeles-based legal organization that won a federal injunction requiring ICE to provide attorney access to detained individuals.

Nationwide mobile alert platform with 500,000+ subscribers providing real-time ICE raid notifications. On January 29, 2026, the platform was hacked — database overwritten with an image of Tom Homan. Hackers claimed they sent user data to the FBI. StopICE traced the attack to a CBP agent's personal server in Southern California. DHS subpoenaed Meta to unmask an Instagram account that had identified agents using StopICE data.

Venezuelan criminal organization designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department on February 20, 2025. Experts note TdA is profit-driven, not ideological — fitting organized crime rather than terrorism. The designation provided legal cover for the Alien Enemies Act invocation.

Tufts University

Universities

PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested by six masked agents for co-authoring a student newspaper op-ed. The university condemned the arrest. The incident sparked protests at universities across the country.

Issued a unanimous ruling in April 2025 that the Abrego Garcia deportation was illegal. Accepted the birthright citizenship case (Barbara v. Trump) for oral arguments on April 1, 2026.