Trump Supporter Detained by ICE Thought Only Criminals Would Be Deported

Newsweek

6 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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The father of a Trump-supporting Latino family in Florida who has been detained and faces deportation says he thought President Donald Trump was only going to go after criminals regarding immigration.
He appears to be one of a growing number of migrants supporting President Donald Trump who did not realize the full implications of his administration's mass deportation policies.
Newsweek contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) via email and President Trump's office via online form for comment on Friday.
Why It Matters
President Trump was elected on a platform that included strict immigration enforcement, with a focus on deporting individuals living in the U.S. without legal status. While he initially stated that criminals would be the primary target, his administration later clarified that all undocumented individuals would be subject to enforcement actions.
In recent months, some Latino voters who supported Trump have expressed concern as members of their communities, including individuals without criminal records, have been detained and face deportation.
Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on June 20, 2025 in New York City.
Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on June 20, 2025 in New York City.What To Know
In Florida, Trump won almost 70 percent of the Cuban-American vote in 2024. Recent interviews with Latino families who supported the president reflect growing concern, as some individuals who believed they were not at risk are now being arrested by ICE.
As reported previously by Newsweek, one Florida man who voted for President Trump has lost nearly one-third of his employees amid immigration raids.
In a report by NBC News, several families in Florida claim to be affected by the latest wave of deportations under Trump's immigration policies.
According to the report, Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants were one of Trump's most loyal voting blocs. However, a recent poll shows 22 percent of Venezuelan Americans who voted for President Trump now regret their vote, as the Trump administration moves to end Temporary Legal Status, or TPS, for over half a million people who arrived during the Biden administration.
In Miami, a Republican stronghold, one woman interviewed says she came to the U.S. from Cuba on humanitarian parole in 2023. Her husband crossed the border with Mexico twice, once in 2019 when he was detained and deported, and again in 2022.
According to the report, six weeks ago, he was taken into custody at his residency hearing. He was given an appointment to go to ICE, and from there was detained and transferred to a detention center in Texas.
Speaking to NBC News by telephone from the facility, when asked about the current situation with deportations, the man said in Spanish, translated by the reporter, that he did not understand how this could happen.
When asked what he thought would happen when Trump won, the man said that he believed the president when he said he was going to deport criminals.
His wife is now left with her children, including a 7-month-old baby, and the man's 70-year-old grandmother, who has been a U.S. citizen for years.
What People Are Saying
Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, in a statement earlier this month: "President Trump himself has acknowledged what so many of us already know: longtime workers, many of whom have built their lives in this country, are being taken away. Our construction sites, our hotels, and our farms are feeling the impact. It's time for Congress to act and bring a solution.
That's why, before the end of the month, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar and I will lead a bipartisan group of our colleagues in introducing a revolutionary piece of legislation that will offer real solutions to fix our immigration system and finally bring order to chaos for good."
Ileana Garcia, co-founder of a pro-Trump Latina advocacy group, as reported by U.K. news outlet The Guardian, sharply criticized the president over recent immigration-related arrests earlier this month, calling them "unacceptable and inhumane and saying: "This is not what we voted for."
What Happens Next
The ripple effects of the ICE detentions and deportations are expected to continue to impact families and businesses across the country for some time to come.