A former truck driver in the Middle East, Mushtaq now works long shifts at a convenience store outside Albany, sending whatever little he can back home. After two decades of grueling labor overseas, he had hoped that coming to the United States would finally give his family the security he never achieved before. His dream was simple — to educate his six children and build a stable life.
Ahmad arrived in the US in July last year. Since then, he has received a work permit and a Social Security Number, granting him the legal right to work. But the hope of opportunity has quickly turned into fear amid a sweeping immigration crackdown. “Friends told me life in the US is good, full of jobs and opportunities. But now, I’m not happy. Everyone who came like me regrets their decision,” he said.
His journey to the US cost about $16,000 and took him through Europe and Mexico via irregular routes. He estimates that others spend up to $40,000 depending on the risks along the way.
On his first day back in office, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed executive orders sharply increasing deportations of undocumented immigrants. The main order, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” reinstated and expanded expedited removal — allowing immigration officials to deport individuals without a court hearing if they cannot prove two years of continuous residence in the country. The Biden administration had previously ended this policy.
Ahmad, an experienced truck driver, initially thought he could continue his profession in the US. But fear now confines him to odd jobs near his home. “I’m scared that ICE might come after me if I go out,” he said. His fear dictates daily life, from how he shops for groceries to whether he steps outside when police are visible.
Most immigrants like him rely on WhatsApp groups and social media for information, where rumors spread far faster than official updates.
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of unauthorized immigrants in the US reached a record 14 million in 2023, with a slight decline projected in 2025. Meanwhile, ICE detention figures have surged under the Trump administration, hitting 59,762 detainees nationwide as of September 21, 2025 — up from 59,380 just six weeks earlier. During the Biden years, detention averaged between 30,000 and 35,000, while Trump’s previous peak was around 55,000 in 2019.
“Every day I wake up thinking, will today be the day?” Ahmad said. “It’s like walking on a tightrope without a safety net.” His lawyer has advised him to avoid airports and other areas where ICE presence is high.
Though media reports indicate that ICE has occasionally detained lawful permanent residents, some immigrants still feel secure. Pakistani-American Ainy Agha, 43, a green card holder from Massachusetts, expressed faith in the legal system. “ICE raids target people without legal status or with criminal records. Those of us with legal documents and clean records are not the focus,” she said.
Still, broader enforcement policies — including expanded detention centers, empowering local police as immigration agents, and reviving the Remain in Mexico policy — have created a deep atmosphere of fear. Programs like Project Homecoming, which offers $1,000 for voluntary departure alongside fines and deportation threats, have only heightened anxiety. The Department of Homeland Security reported nearly two million undocumented immigrants deported or voluntarily departed since January 20, 2025.
In Virginia, 40-year-old Tariq Khan*, a Pakistani-American entrepreneur, described how the labor market is shrinking. “We’re in transportation, and fear is affecting everyone — legal workers, green card holders, and the undocumented. Job applications have dried up. People are afraid to work,” he said. Immigrant-driven communities are spending less, hurting small businesses and local economies.
Khan, who voted for Trump, said he feels disillusioned. “I believed he would strengthen the economy and support small businesses like mine. Instead, there’s fear and decline. The very workers who keep our industries running are vanishing — not because they don’t want to work, but because they’re scared.”
Trump’s immigration directives now face multiple lawsuits. Civil rights groups argue that expanded expedited removal violates due process, and courts have blocked his birthright citizenship order as unconstitutional. Judges have also accused the administration of showing “willful disregard” for prior rulings by deporting migrants under rarely used wartime laws.
A report by the American Immigration Council in July warned that current enforcement practices undermine basic constitutional protections — from free speech to protection against unlawful searches and the right to due process.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.*
