Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, the Trump administration has removed approximately 400,000 people from the U.S., according to a Sept. 23 update from the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS also claims that more than 1.6 million undocumented immigrants have self-deported.
For decades, the debate over documented versus undocumented immigration in the U.S. has remained a topic of discussion throughout political parties. Advocacy and protection bills and organizations, such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, passed in June 2012, and Temporary Protected Status, passed in 1990 for El Salvador, have long been incorporated into American law, granting asylum and security to millions across the country, up until recently.
According to the July 23, 2025 edition of American Immigration Council, “The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure. Despite this, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have engaged in unnecessary secrecy and even subterfuge to seize immigrants off the street.”
As a consequence, children who are supposed to be protected by DACA have been detained and deported back to their home countries while in school, triggering apprehension throughout immigrant communities and families alike. Similar events within Winston-Salem have begun affecting students and staff throughout Sparta.
“We have had some days this year and last year where students were scared to come to school for fear of ICE coming to the schools or homes. It is a very real fear that affects many families,” said a Sparta staff member who did not wish to be named.
President Donald Trump has communicated concerns via the social media site TruthSocial about the dangers that undocumented immigrants pose to the country, often claiming that their communities foster crime and unlawful activity. President Trump has referenced the 2024 murder of Laken Riley and the 2011 murder of Matthew Denice, cases involving undocumented immigrants charged with criminal activity, in the context of national immigration policy discussions.
These ideas and opinions have circulated nationwide, primarily through social media platforms such as TikTok and X. Some users have found themselves being targeted in public for views and rhetoric that have gone viral, amplifying anti-immigration discourse.
A Sparta student who did not wish to be named said, “…my mom and my grandma have both been [harassed]. They were at Ross, and a lady there… was accusing my grandma of stealing clothes, and [my grandma] was just trying to try them on, but she was like ‘Oh no, you’re stealing those clothes.’ And just because she didn’t speak English.”
Through these virtual confrontations, WS/FCS students’ safety becomes a primary concern. When asked what WS/FCS staff could do to promote a safer learning environment, a member of Sparta staff who asked not to be named responded, “Be a good example of empathy and fairness to all. Teachers could keep political views to themselves and educate themselves on current immigration issues because new policies are being implemented every day that might affect a student or their family.”
During ICE raids, there have often been mistakes about an individual’s citizenship status, with agents detaining people based on incorrect information. According to The New York Times, native-born American citizens are arrested and nearly deported without probable cause or reason due to clerical errors.
When asked about how this reflects the current state of America’s immigration status, an unnamed member of Sparta’s staff said, “It makes me feel sick to my stomach.”