Even as election results reshaped the political landscape in Washington, federal immigration enforcement continued without pause — with arrests reported from coast to coast in the days following the midterm elections. The incidents, spanning hospitals, airports, highways, and college towns, have drawn intense scrutiny from families, advocates, and local officials alike.
President Donald Trump said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview recorded the day after the election that his immigration crackdown may have been “too tough,” suggesting it was time to work with the rival party on the issue. But those words stood in sharp contrast to the actions that followed. Trump named Stephen Miller — the chief architect of his hardline immigration agenda — as his new chief of staff. And Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made clear that nothing on the ground had changed.
“Deportations will continue,”
Mullin wrote in an online post the day after the election, adding that ICE takes no days off and that
“this includes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Election Day.”
Advocates across the country reported a steady stream of detentions. María Bilbao, a campaign coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in Miami, said she has fielded at least one call per day from someone detained in South Florida since the vote.
“Everything remains exactly the same. The arrests have not ceased at all,”
Bilbao said.
Florida Highway Patrol officers and ICE agents have detained people in cars, supermarkets, pharmacies, and gas stations. Immigrants with scheduled ICE check-in appointments in Miami have also been arrested when they arrived at the office.
Masked Officers Outside a Los Angeles Hospital
On Friday night in Los Angeles, a large convoy of vehicles with tinted windows and no license plates gathered near the emergency room entrance of Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center — a hospital serving a heavily Latino neighborhood. Erick Gasca, 31, who lives nearby, described the scene as unlike anything he had seen before.
“I thought they were going to raid the hospital or something,”
he recalled.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to explain the officers’ presence, though Bill Essayli, the top Justice Department prosecutor in Los Angeles, said they were escorting a detainee for medical treatment. Essayli said two people were arrested for assaulting federal agents. DHS stated:
“ICE does not target hospitals, schools, or churches.”
Footage recorded by Gasca’s cousin, Michelle Rivera, showed about 30 residents and passersby confronting officers, with some protesters shouting as officers pinned someone to the ground. The hospital issued a statement distancing itself from the events. Hospital president Daniel Fontoura said,
“White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement,”
and that the facility would not allow such activities to
“compromise our commitment to patient care and safety.”
A Couple Detained at a Phoenix Airport
On Saturday, a married couple from Orlando was arrested at a Phoenix airport while traveling to attend a friend’s funeral. Gustavo Romanello and Agustin Baccega, both Argentine nationals, had been living in the United States for about six years with valid work permits while awaiting asylum decisions, according to family friend Jonathan Batchelor.
Batchelor was on the phone with the couple at the time of the arrest. Two casually dressed officers approached and asked for Baccega by name. Batchelor heard one officer say,
“Asylum seekers are not in the United States legally.”
When officers then asked Romanello his name, Batchelor recounted,
“the guard said, ‘Oh, do you have another set of handcuffs? This is another one.'”
The call went silent shortly after.
Both men, who worked as acrobats in Florida and had no criminal records, remain in detention. Batchelor described their situation plainly:
“This is just taking good people who have been following the rules out of their lives and out of the lives of those who rely upon them and care about them.”
DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Two College Students Arrested in Alabama
A day after the election, 19-year-old twins Luis and Carlos Orta-Santoro were stopped by authorities while driving back to Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, after visiting their parents. Born in Venezuela, the brothers had lived in the U.S. for four years, had pending asylum applications, valid work permits, and no criminal history. Both are now held in an immigration detention facility.
“Our family is devastated,”
said their aunt, Carolina Orta.
DHS acknowledged the brothers had entered the country legally but said they had
“overstayed in defiance of our laws,”
and that their case would be heard by an immigration judge. DHS also noted that pending asylum applications do not confer legal status. The college issued a statement saying,
“Both young men are valued members of the Wallace State community, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. We sincerely hope for a positive resolution to their situation.”
An 8-Year-Old Boy Taken Into Custody in San Diego
An 8-year-old Haitian boy living with his uncle in San Diego — his father having been deported the previous year — was taken into custody after being summoned to an ICE office on November 4. His uncle, who is not his legal guardian, accompanied him. The boy was detained, leaving him, according to a letter from San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Fabi Bagula and school board members,
“without the support of their family, community and their school.”
The letter addressed to top administration officials stated,
“Children should not lose access to education simply because of circumstances unfolding around them.”
ICE defended its actions. Johny Oxeda, pastor of the Fairmount Haitian Community Church — which helped secure legal representation for the child — said the boy would ultimately benefit from going through legal channels. Others were less measured in their response.
Guerline Jozef of Haitian Bridge Alliance said,
“This is not child protection,”
adding,
“this is state-inflicted trauma.”
Reporting contributed by Valerie Gonzalez and Tim Sullivan of the Associated Press, via KNAU and Arizona News. Additional Arizona political coverage includes Crane narrowly defeats Nez in race for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, reported by Chris Clements.