Swetha Narmeta

As tensions rise in the United States from detainments and deportations due to protests, immigrants are more fearful of traveling and risking their path to becoming permanent US citizens.

On Mar. 9, 2025, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and detained for protesting against Israel. His arrest was justified on the grounds that his protests sparked antisemitic views. Despite Khalil having a greencard, his right to stay in the country will be forfeited if he supports Palestine according to President Donald Trump.

This event is one of many that has created fear and unrest between a large population of permanent residents in the United States. Following President Trump’s promise of revoking birthright citizenship and his set of executive orders to curtail immigration, there have been an increasing number of public cases about greencard and visa holders getting detained or deported when traveling out of the country or protesting. 

Even though these arrests have had legal precedent, they still infringe on basic civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and protest. This has created a growing sense of fear that has affected things as simple as travel plans. “As someone who consumes the news everyday, I think it’s concerning how serious deportations and detentions have become,” an anonymous source (source A) said. “Even my mother, who has had her citizenship for many years, is worried about leaving the country because she wasn’t born in the United States.”

Actions from Trump’s executive orders have led to viewpoint discrimination, with a specific opinion or belief pushed to the public while others are silenced. Despite having legal precedent in place to protect the freedom of expression, such as Texas v. Johnson, there are still arrests because of dissonance between viewpoints .

“Historically, we’ve seen how silencing groups has affected the United States and the world,” source A added. “It feels like we’re regressing as a nation.”

This impacts the success of people able to legally become citizens in the first place and uses scare tactics to censor civil liberties. “Families who immigrate here and obtain permanent resident status are here with the intention of becoming U.S. citizens,” another anonymous source (source B) said. “They leave behind their families and go through the proper legal channels for a process that spans decades just to have a chance at citizenship, only to live in fear in the country they love because of a label the government has assigned them.”

As freedom of speech becomes questioned, it’s important to remember civil liberties. “Holding specific viewpoints has created fear,” Source A said. “That has become the most worrisome as these detainments occur.”