Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts How To Build A Police State (With The Supreme Court’s Blessing)
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Jul 19, 2025 
Aaron Reichlin Melnick, a Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council, explores the chilling effects of extreme immigration policies unleashed by the Trump administration. He discusses the surge in aggressive ICE tactics and the troubling rise of racial profiling, especially against Latino communities. The conversation delves into the psychological toll on undocumented families from mass deportation raids and scrutinizes the complexities surrounding wrongful deportations. The implications of recent Supreme Court decisions on immigration law are also examined, revealing a fragile balance between enforcement and human rights.
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Shift to Mass Immigration Raids
- The Trump administration drastically shifted ICE enforcement from targeted to mass raids starting in May.
- This includes random workplace raids and arrests not based on specific suspects, increasing fear and reducing focus on criminal records.
Immigration Enforcement Roles Blurring
- ICE, Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations have distinct roles but are increasingly merging for aggressive immigration enforcement.
- Border Patrol roving patrols often rely on unconstitutional racial profiling, targeting Latinos based on appearance and location.
Raids' Dual Goals of Deportation and Fear
- Immigration raids aim not only to deport but also to instill fear and induce self-deportation.
- Despite widespread fear, actual arrests impact less than 0.5% of undocumented immigrants in large cities like Los Angeles.