Los Angeles’ ICE Raids and the Death of the American Dream

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© The New York Times

The “American Dream” paints a picturesque image of a white picket fenced house, cash flowing in alongside a perfect job, and the freedom to pursue all goals and aspirations, no matter your background. 

There has always been a long-held belief in the United States that it’s a place where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, but over the last few decades, people have been knocking that vision down (Gatsby included). The dream, long promising happiness for those willing to work for a better life, now knocks in the dark of immigrants’ houses with a badge and a warrant.

This was true for Maria Miranda – once an undocumented migrant from Mexico, but since then, has built a stable life for herself and her future. 

"I came here as an undocumented child and now I am the elementary vice-president of United Teachers Los Angeles, the second largest education union in the nation,” Miranda told 7.30.

"I am my parents' American dream."

As the line between law enforcement and fear blurs, what remains is a fractured ideal: a dream still spoken in many languages, but increasingly deferred. If America prides itself on being a land of hope, then these voices force us to ask - what is actually happening?

A crackdown on immigration sweeps to a scene of mass deportation. Trump and the administration have made this promise across the country with the White House setting a goal for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest at least 3,000 immigrants a day.

Trump is also trying to remove birthright citizenship, which allows most U.S. residents the right to citizenship, including the children of undocumented immigrants.

Polls suggest the majority of Americans support Trump's increasing efforts to deport undocumented immigrants. However, people voted differently about when it’s appropriate to raid - and who exactly should be deported. 

According to polling by Pew Research Center earlier this year, 66 per cent believe it's appropriate to arrest undocumented migrants at protests, 54 per cent believe it's fine to do it at their workplaces, and only 33 per cent think ICE agents should do it at places of worship.

A majority believing violent criminals should be deported does not equally apply to those who have stayed in America for an extended period of time, and those who have family there.

Immigration is under the remit of the federal government, where they have commanded large, powerful resources such as the police, causing widespread fear-mongering. Ms Feldstein Soto, Los Angeles City’s governor, who is also a frontrunner to be the Democratic candidate in the next election, accused Trump of using federal resources to raise tensions and heat up a crisis, further claiming that local state authorities had the situation reasonably under control. 

What’s more, Trump has no mandate.

“He does not have a mandate to conduct mass sweeps," Soto said.

“And he certainly doesn’t have a mandate to send federal troops into my city.”

While democracy has clearly fallen long ago, its last remaining strings are shown through concerned L.A. citizens exercising their constitutional right to protest against cruel and unwarranted raids that spread fear within the migrant community.