With chaos, confusion and concern spreading across America regarding the actions of ICE and their aggressive tactics, the media and news agencies have spread this news worldwide. Flashy headlines have become present on all social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, and have crept onto the phones of UK teenagers; a demographic which discuss these issues often with thoughtful worry. What do these often devastating events mean for the UK and how do students feel about this?
The impact of US immigration policies
To understand how occurrences in the US may affect the UK, we must first inform ourselves of US immigration policies. What legal enforcement is in place and how do they operate?
I’m sure many of us by now have heard news articles on online platforms and social media headlining news about ‘ICE raids in Minnesota’, ‘Mass Deportations’ and ‘Indefinite Visa Suspensions’. While these gripping headlines distribute alarm and anxiety among society – what do they really mean?
ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security which was established in 2002 following the 9/11 attacks. The purpose of this agency is to apprehend, detain and deport any undocumented immigrants or to detain any illegally present persons that pose a threat to public safety. This is done under the two primary ICE components:
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
• Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO)
More information on these two components may be found here.
Recent high-profile raids have caused wide-spread awareness and newly established controversies regarding violations of the American Constitution, such as the 4th Amendment Right (detaining people without probable cause and reasonable suspicion). The media has amplified potential fears and worries, especially in the youth, such as through the unfortunate story of Renée Good’s death and the circling video of her controversial death by shooting of an ICE officer; her story one of the many examples of tragic deaths following ICE action. Graphic media like this and increased ICE activity under President Trump’s administration have raised new questions in the UK and how this could affect the UK’s immigration policies.
Why do US ICE tactics strike fear and worry?
Due to recent unfortunate deaths and thousands of arrests made by ICE officers, debates have been raised in the news by figures such as the Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, and also in the media by society as to if ICE are beneficial to the country of the United States of America or if they are worsening the situation. ICE currently possesses the power to detain and arrest people that are in the US illegally or if officers have suspicion that a person may not be a legal US citizen and are significantly backed by President Trump and the White House.
The main causes for worry have been:
• Increasing ICE power demonstrated by skyrocketing budgets, increased detentions and staff expansions
• Controversy regarding suspicion for arrest being variable and subject to opinion
• Brutal methods which include kicking, pinning down and trapping detainees in car doors in order for successful arrests
• Unconditional violence and mistreatment shown towards detainees at detainment centres
Student Concerns
Over the February half-term, I interviewed 2 anonymous students at Bolton School who have voiced their own knowledge, their own concerns on ICE activities and how it may affect the future. I asked them how ICE activity has raised their concerns and how they feel it may impact UK life.
The first student has voiced her concern for the lack of human rights that ICE detainees seem to possess when held at detainment centres. Many detainees, some who are legal migrants, are “attacked, assaulted and even murdered” at the time of detainment and at the large ICE-controlled centres. Some of these detainees have also been children that have had to fend for themselves in court rooms and undergo the same conditions as the detained adults. The student also voices concern for whether the power ICE officers possess is just and fair. As mentioned previously, ICE officers possess the right to arrest individuals if they have suspicion of them being in the US illegally. Concern may be raised regarding the judgement of officers and whether arrests are purely made based on prejudice of the person being of a certain race or skin colour. The student continued to emphasise that mistakes and violations of human rights made by ICE officers are usually defended and backed by Homeland Security emphasising that the ICE has become “corrupted” with aggressive officers escaping punishment and then continue to use their badge as “an excuse to walk around being racist”. The student also commented on how if ICE’s aggressive methods spread to the UK, it could lead to “financial instability” regarding how the loss of cultures and diversity could lead to a decline in consumer spending, at times such as Chinese New Year, which would decrease the health of the economy. Additionally, the student showed concern for the dilemmas and chaos that ICE-like methods may cause and how it wouldn’t be advantageous but instead damage society and communities.
The second student expressed concerns regarding how ICE’s methods lead to “families being split up” and has often resulted in distressing experiences for young children that may leave a long-lasting emotional impact. For a child, parents are often seen as their protector and are the people they are most dependent on. When this support and structure is torn away, children start to feel unsafe, panicked and anxious; feelings a young child should not be experiencing. Additionally, due to ICE’s violent methods and priority for national security, they often don’t consider how witnessing a parent being aggressively pinned down, arrested and detained can be emotionally damaging for a child. The student also revealed worries for how the accelerated growth of Reform (a political party) could “increase discrimination and racism if they are voted in”. As Reform’s main policy is strict immigration control, this may lead to an increase in activity that seeks out illegal immigrants and more controversial situations where judgements may be prejudiced by race and ethnicity. Additionally, Reform aims to freeze “non-essential” immigration and while this could reduce pressure on public services and the infrastructure, it could reduce diversity in Britain and fuel discrimination by lack of understanding and culture.
These in-depth ideas provide a small insight to student opinions and reveal the anxieties behind the unheard voices of young adults.
Media Influence
Hearing these student voices provides an eye opener into the concerns of teenagers especially since our voices are often the ones ignored or missed due to being considered as ‘less educated’ by older people of society. Some believe that opinions of the youth are compromised and biased due to misinformation of the media. While aspects of the media are often untruthful or stretch the truth significantly, to what extent does this influence ideas of young people?
One new, uprising, fearful factor to misinformation is the vaulting development of AI and its ability to create convincing real-life videos. Due to social media algorithms, false content that is shocking and piques interest and attention is likely to become more circulated and watched by viewers meaning that AI generated clips of ICE generate widespread, unnecessary worry or concern. Simultaneously, due to worries of AI generated content, people may begin to confuse real news and false news losing the ability to differentiate truth and fiction. Overall, despite advancements of AI being considered a ‘major step’ for technology and the future, it has created confusion and escalated fears of ICE.
Additionally, news stories are often exaggerated to increase views which, again, can heighten fears and increase anxiety. Considering anxiety is becoming more common in teenagers with exams and other worries at a young age, additional stress only heightens our anxiety more and can become detrimental to our mental health. For this reason, discussion of ideas and fact checking articles is vital to minimize stress so it does not become damaging. Additionally, if immigration news starts to become deeply worrying to you, it is advisable to talk with a trusted adult, potentially a parent/guardian or teacher.
The reality of British immigration policies
Moving onto how ICE activity could affect the UK, first we must understand how the UK handles immigration and what policies and legal entities are currently in place.
In the UK, immigration policies focus on trying to reduce net migration and prioritising immigration for those with valued skills, such as engineers and academics. Starting on 1 January 2021, a points-based immigration system was established which assigns points to an individual based on skills, qualifications, salaries and professions – visas would only be awarded to those who have gained enough points and also those who meet a standard criteria (such as possessing the ability to speak English). This new system was established “to attract the brightest and best from around the globe” and give higher priority to talented, skilled workers.
Throughout 2025, immigration policies still continued to focus on reducing net migration and also tightening settlement rules. The Home Office proposed changes to the “earned settlement” system which would have doubled the time to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from 5 to 10 years; in other terms, changes meant it would take immigrants longer to attain full British Citizenship. Additionally, the Home Office’s proposal required English proficiency to be at an A-level English Language standard and also required migrants to pay income tax to the Exchequer (the government’s “bank account”) before settling. All-together, in simpler terms, 2025 action proposed to make permanent residence in the UK harder to attain. While these proposals have not been fully actioned as law yet so far in 2026, it is likely the government will implement these changes as early as April 2026. When these policies are implemented, they are treated retroactively meaning that current foreign nationals without ILR may be affected.
British immigration enforcement
While the Home Office mainly focuses on reducing the number of incoming immigrants into the UK, what are their rules for enforcing immigration guidelines and how are they similar and different with that of the US?
The main immigration enforcement groups in the UK are Border Force and Immigration Enforcement (IE).
Purpose of Border Force:
• Provide 24/7 frontline border security
• Protect sea ports and airports
• Conduct searches for illicit goods and illegal immigrants in baggage, cargo and vehicles
• Checking the immigration status of passengers
• More information can be found here
Purpose of Immigration Enforcement:
• Focus on inland compliance and manage the removal of foreign national offenders or those without sufficient legal documentation
• Conduct intelligence-led investigations to find individuals without legal status
• Handle return of individuals with no right to remain
• Tackle any abuse of the immigration system
• More information can be found here
These inland operations begin to sound similar to the role of US ICE activity yet they do differ in certain aspects. IE are considered to be more reactive, limited by smaller capacity and often follow slower legal processes. This contrasts with US ICE’s new “door-to-door” method that seems to have adopted a new proactive approach to their immigration enforcement as well as having large detention centres where detainees are placed directly after being arrested by ICE officers, taking immediate effect.
The UK also currently have their version of ‘ICE’ (Immigration Compliance and Enforcement), that falls under the IE command, with teams across the country that focus on investigating illegal workers and assisting immigration removals, often working with local police enforcement. While UK ICE and US ICE are quite different, towards the end of 2025, proposals were made for UK ICE to begin adopting more aggressive, US-style tactics with large holding centres for immigrants which has raised much debate as to whether this would make a negative or positive impact.
Looking to the future
In the future, there could be an increase in the powers of immigration enforcement officers such as allocating more firearms and expanding their jurisdiction. This would either increase the efficiency of maintaining UK national security or could bring about new issues regarding what power should be allocated to law enforcement entities decreasing trust between communities and immigration enforcement. Additionally, there may be an increase in the size of detainment centres. Would this act as a deterrent or raise human rights concerns?
As things currently stand, plans for 2026 entail crackdowns on compliance by relying on data-led surveillance and technology. Enforcement intends to look more into the prevention of illegal working. The use of technology allows for digital rights-to-work checks via Home Office online systems and also enhances the ability for detection of non-compliance. In addition, with a 77% increase in immigrant enforcement raid operations from July 2024 to December 2025, it is likely that this will continue into the future. Talks for more aggressive action remain but have not been motioned yet.
What can we do?
As students and general citizens of the UK, worrying news like this can raise concerns for our future and how immigration enforcement may impact the lives of friends, family, loved ones and potentially even your own. We must continue to respectfully read headlines. fact check news articles and keep up to date with reliable news sources such as BBC News. Discussion should be encouraged; discuss your thoughts and opinions with friends, with classmates, with parents/guardians, with teachers and with anyone who will listen. If we don’t voice our ideas, our hopes for the future won’t stand a chance to be heard and potentially implemented. Social media is an opportunistic platform to broadcast your own ideas and opinions but it is always essential to be respectful and also wary of the dangers of social media and to ask a parent or guardian for permission and if you are unsure. Continue to inform yourselves of immigration policies, changes worldwide and dive deeper below the surface of circulated headlines.
Thank you for reading.
By Emily Lyon