In June 2023, during heightened immigration enforcement efforts by the Trump administration, a nurse in Portland, Oregon, sustained serious injuries from a tear gas canister fired by federal agents while protesting at a detention facility. Vincent Hawkins, who has extensive experience in emergency medicine, emphasized his commitment to opposing government actions despite the risks involved.

Since early 2023, there has been an increase in the use of crowd control weapons, such as rubber bullets and tear gas, by federal agents against both citizens and noncitizens during protests. Experts have expressed concerns that these actions may violate legal standards, as such weapons are intended for use in situations involving imminent threats, not against peaceful demonstrators. A review by ProPublica and FRONTLINE highlighted multiple instances where federal agents appeared to disregard guidelines prohibiting targeting sensitive areas like the head and neck. Reports from various locations, including Southern California and Chicago, documented excessive force against individuals posing no immediate threat, including journalists and religious leaders.

Christy Lopez, a former civil rights attorney at the Department of Justice, indicated that the excessive use of force warrants investigation for potential criminal conduct. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended its agents, asserting they are trained to use the minimum necessary force, although manufacturers of crowd control weapons acknowledge their potential for serious injury or death. In response to growing scrutiny, a federal judge issued an order limiting the use of such weapons in California, requiring clear warnings before deployment, a ruling that has faced pushback from DHS.

In Michigan, the North Lake Correctional Facility has become the largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in the Midwest, reflecting a significant increase in immigration detention. Since July 2023, over 200 individuals have filed federal lawsuits challenging their indefinite detention under a new policy that restricts eligibility for bond. This policy, implemented by the Trump administration, expands mandatory detention to include undocumented immigrants regardless of their circumstances, treating civil immigration violations as criminal offenses and leading to prolonged detention without due process.

A class-action lawsuit filed on November 17, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan seeks to challenge this policy, particularly for individuals with no criminal history who have lived in the U.S. for extended periods. Critics argue that the no-bond policy creates a system of mass, indefinite detention lacking congressional authorization and violating constitutional protections. The ACLU estimates that millions of undocumented immigrants may be affected by this policy, which has seen a significant decrease in the number of detainees granted bond, dropping from 12% in April to 3.4% in September.

The North Lake facility, operated by the private prison company GEO Group, has seen its detainee population rise dramatically, from an average of 416 in mid-September to 1,263 by November 10, with approximately 89% of those detained having no criminal records. One notable case involves Evangelina Morales, a single mother of four U.S. citizen children, who has been detained since October 28. Her lawsuit underscores the challenges faced by individuals with deep community ties now subjected to mandatory detention due to misclassification under the new policy. The legal actions in Michigan reflect a broader trend of increasing litigation against ICE's detention practices, with many cases successfully challenging the legality of the new policy.

Overall, these developments highlight the complexities and humanitarian implications of current immigration enforcement policies and the growing legal resistance against practices perceived as unjust.