During the first week of President Donald Trump’s second term, he signed executive orders to start mass deportations across the United States. What was planned to be a deportation of immigrants who have committed crimes, has now become a deportation of any immigrant that ICE — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — deportation policy can find.

His deportation policy is for what he calls “dangerous aliens” according to an X post from Trump’s team. He has also signed executive orders to get rid of the protection of birthright citizens.

Birthright citizenship is part of the 14th Amendment, which, in 1868, stated that the U.S. grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U. S., including formerly enslaved individuals and guarantees equal protection under the law. In short, anyone born on U.S. land has the right to citizenship, regardless of whether their parents are immigrants. A ban on birthright citizens could do enormous damage to the country.

It’s disgusting for the president of the free world to talk about people in such a way where it dehumanizes them. Such hatred strips away the integrity of the individuals who came here seeking a better life and wanting to contribute to the American dream.

What Trump has done in his first weeks in office is a horror to watch.

These mass deportations have hit 24 major cities, including Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City and Los Angeles. But, in reality, they have also hit many more small cities and towns.

ICE has been completely abusing its power when it comes to what was supposed to be just a raid for criminals. They are now targeting schools, churches and hospitals.

For someone who claims to be religious, I find it hypocritical that Trump is allowing ICE to be in churches and places of worship. Given that a church is supposed to be a place where everyone should feel accepted and safe, what type of message is he sending?

For immigration to go after schools, which are supposed to be a safe place for children, is crossing the line. It’s completely inhumane. Children already worry about their safety when it comes to school shootings, and now they have to worry if they will be taken by ICE while studying in class.

Immigration officers have started to disguise their cars from a normal ICE vehicle to lure immigrants out of their houses with fake warrants.

To see and read about what is going on in this country and what they’re doing to these poor people who had left their countries for a better opportunity is so sad to see. Some might say, “Well, they should’ve come legally,” but at the same time don’t understand how polarized immigration is in America.

Legalization is an extremely long, hard and expensive process. It’s extremely rare for an immigrant to get their documents easily, which is why most don’t go through the process legally.

I have first-hand experience of being a part of a community of “dangerous aliens,” and to see how the country is treating these people is sickening. People tend to forget that the mass immigration order hurts  people who came to this country for a better opportunity. They came here to get jobs that most wouldn’t want. They are fathers, mothers and children; they don’t deserve this inhumanity, mostly on land that was stolen.

It’s completely unacceptable what is going on, and these humans, not “dangerous aliens,” deserve better. It’s heartbreaking to see families torn apart and people that are a part of the immigration community living in constant fear.