“I carry my passport card with me wherever I go,” says Mark Ibay, a clerk at Western State Hospital in Washington state. He came from the Philippines in 2019 and became a US citizen in 2025. “The current enforcement is really scary.”
Ibay is one of seven Washington residents KUOW asked about the immigration crackdown through its Community Voices Network. He understands, he says, that the enforcement is aimed at people with criminal records or those here unlawfully, but the way it is carried out seems harsh. His relatives have been pulled over and questioned for hours. “There are a lot of innocent souls out there who also get caught in the crossfire,” he said.
Voices on both sides
Diana McAllister, founder of the Family Academy, which teaches parents to homeschool, supports the deportations; it is the policy she voted for. A former card-carrying Democrat who now calls herself ultra-conservative, she said: “If they’re not citizens, they don’t have rights in this country. They’ve not paid their dues.” She once tried to help a local business with visa applications for its workers and found the process burdensome, but still thinks employers must hire legally.
Gabriel Dias, a paraeducator who monitors ICE activity with a citizens’ rapid-response team, sees something else. Arrests were first focused on people with criminal records, Dias said, and now include those without. “We’re seeing families torn apart.” Frank Schin, a social conservative who voted for Trump once, in 2016, backs arresting people wanted for serious crimes but wants enforcement staff screened more carefully. Levi Sweeney, a self-described “dyed-in-the-wool Republican”, thinks policy is going “in the right direction, more or less”, yet would give leniency to people with a clean record who have held down jobs.
The data gives the unease some footing. KUOW analyzed ICE datasets obtained by the Deportation Data Project and found a surge in ICE activity in Washington this summer, with most arrests involving people who had no criminal record. A Fox News poll put Trump’s approval on immigration at 43 percent, down five points since last summer, and a majority of respondents said enforcement had gone too far. A September Politico poll found mass deportations were dividing his own base.
Trump and Vance point at France
Abroad, the president and vice president are using unrest as a warning. After more than half a million people joined a nationwide protest in France over the cost of living, with looting, arson and attacks on town halls and police stations, JD Vance shared a video of Limoges city hall on fire. He wrote on X that Western liberals “imported the third world into France” and added: “I hope Americans are paying attention. This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country.”
Trump followed on Truth Social. “France is burning!” he wrote, urging the country to close its borders “before it is too late”. The US midterms are due November 3, with all House seats and about a third of the Senate up for election.
A new rule on public benefits
For immigrants applying for status, a federal public charge rule took effect on September 18, 2026. It changes how the use of public benefits can affect a green card or certain visa applications, though it does not apply to every applicant. Where it does, the government may consider means-tested benefits from any level of government, such as SNAP food assistance and Medicaid. Social Security and Medicare, which are earned benefits, are not means-tested.
New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs says residents’ eligibility for benefits has not changed and warns people not to stop using benefits before talking to a trusted legal provider. Free, confidential help is available in many languages through the city’s hotline at 800-354-0365, or by dialing 311 and saying “Immigration Legal”. The office also runs legal support centers in community sites, public health facilities, schools and libraries.
Sources
- Trump joins Vance in blaming immigration for French riots
- 7 Washingtonians share their views on Trump's immigration policy
- Public Charge Rule
Photo: usicegov (Public domain)
